Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,097 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Maximus were worth $1,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its holdings in Maximus by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 551,146 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $41,143,000 after acquiring an additional 167,019 shares during the period. Sio Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Maximus during the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,453,000. Ruffer LLP purchased a new stake in Maximus during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,266,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Maximus by 285.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,971 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $15,927,000 after acquiring an additional 126,573 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Maximus during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,139,000. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Maximus

In other news, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $988,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,167.68. This represents a 85.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MMS shares. Raymond James upgraded Maximus from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut Maximus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th.

Maximus Trading Up 1.0 %

MMS opened at $68.67 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.72. Maximus, Inc. has a one year low of $63.77 and a one year high of $93.97.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The health services provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.22. Maximus had a return on equity of 21.95% and a net margin of 5.28%. Analysts predict that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Maximus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 15th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Maximus’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.81%.

Maximus 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.