Maximus (NYSE:MMS) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Maximus (NYSE:MMS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Separately, Raymond James raised Maximus from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd.

Maximus Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MMS opened at $75.31 on Wednesday. Maximus has a 1 year low of $69.72 and a 1 year high of $93.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $74.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.99.

Maximus Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, February 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Maximus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Maximus news, Director Raymond B. Ruddy acquired 3,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $71.46 per share, with a total value of $249,395.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 112,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,040,679.20. This trade represents a 3.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michelle F. Link sold 2,208 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.83, for a total value of $163,016.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $484,841.61. The trade was a 25.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders purchased 7,063 shares of company stock valued at $502,017 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Maximus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Maximus by 69.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 56,480 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,840,000 after acquiring an additional 23,067 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Maximus by 32.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 147,537 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $12,644,000 after buying an additional 35,867 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Maximus by 150.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 406,075 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $34,801,000 after buying an additional 243,890 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Maximus by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,205 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,303,000 after buying an additional 2,292 shares during the period. Finally, Ariadne Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Maximus in the 2nd quarter valued at about $90,000. 97.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Maximus Company Profile

Maximus, Inc operates as a provider of government services in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Federal Services, U.S. Services, and Outside the U.S. The U.S. Services segment offers program eligibility support and enrollment; centralized multilingual customer contact centers, multichannel, and digital self-service options for enrollment; application assistance and independent health plan choice counseling; beneficiary outreach, education, eligibility, enrollment, and redeterminations; and person-centered independent disability, long-term sick, and other health assessments.