Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,790,000 shares, a drop of 22.2% from the February 13th total of 2,300,000 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 766,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Maximus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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 research report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Maximus Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Maximus stock traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $68.19. 86,167 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 480,319. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.96. The stock has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.71. Maximus has a fifty-two week low of $63.77 and a fifty-two week high of $93.97.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The health services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.22. Maximus had a net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 21.95%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Maximus will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Maximus Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, February 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Maximus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.81%.

Insider Activity at Maximus

In other news, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of Maximus stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $988,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,167.68. The trade was a 85.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maximus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Atria Investments Inc bought a new position in shares of Maximus during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $244,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Maximus by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,152 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Maximus during the 3rd quarter valued at $214,000. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Maximus during the 3rd quarter valued at $955,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Maximus by 95.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 37,488 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,492,000 after purchasing an additional 18,286 shares in the last quarter. 97.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.