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

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

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

Maximus Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of Maximus stock opened at $75.37 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Maximus has a 12-month low of $69.72 and a 12-month high of $93.97. The company has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.07 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.15.

Maximus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, February 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Maximus’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.00%.

Insider Transactions at Maximus

In related news, Director Raymond B. Ruddy purchased 3,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $71.46 per share, with a total value of $249,395.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 112,520 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Bruce Caswell purchased 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $70.64 per share, for a total transaction of $247,240.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 275,929 shares in the company, valued at $19,491,624.56. This represents a 1.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 7,063 shares of company stock valued at $502,017 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Maximus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Maximus by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 32,134 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,399,000 after acquiring an additional 8,138 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Maximus by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 722,172 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $54,748,000 after buying an additional 16,772 shares during the last quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Maximus by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC now owns 25,200 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,881,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of Maximus by 178.1% in the 4th quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 6,383 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 4,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Maximus in the fourth quarter worth $8,139,000. 97.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Maximus

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.