Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, July 26th.
According to Zacks, “MAXIMUS, Inc. is an extremely dynamic and complex organization that offers government and industry a range of unique services, products, and solutions. The diverse services and products that MAXIMUS offers may be categorized into three groups: Government Program Management and Operations, Consulting, and Systems. Government Program Management and Operations focuses on having a measurable impact on the lives of the citizens we help government serve. The insights of MAXIMUS Consulting, and the technological innovations advanced through Systems, help government gain program efficiencies and pursue improvements that in turn benefit citizens. “
Several other research firms have also issued reports on MMS. KeyCorp reiterated a sector weight rating on shares of Maximus in a research note on Thursday, May 25th. ValuEngine lowered shares of Maximus from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 16th. Canaccord Genuity lowered shares of Maximus from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $62.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, July 4th. BidaskClub lowered shares of Maximus from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 6th. Finally, Jefferies Group LLC lowered shares of Maximus from a buy rating to a hold rating and increased their price target for the company from $63.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Friday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Maximus presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $62.17.
Shares of Maximus (NYSE:MMS) traded up 0.72% on Wednesday, hitting $61.50. 452,884 shares of the stock were exchanged. The stock has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16 and a beta of 1.39. Maximus has a 1-year low of $43.69 and a 1-year high of $64.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.91 and its 200-day moving average is $60.73.
Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The health services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.03. Maximus had a net margin of 8.43% and a return on equity of 25.08%. The firm had revenue of $600.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Maximus will post $3.09 earnings per share for the current year.
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The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be issued a $0.045 dividend. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 11th. Maximus’s payout ratio is 5.73%.
In related news, Director Russell A. Beliveau sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.82, for a total value of $95,730.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 41,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,669,526.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Bruce Caswell sold 17,197 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total transaction of $1,074,296.59. Following the transaction, the president now owns 27,904 shares in the company, valued at $1,743,162.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 117,846 shares of company stock worth $7,381,746. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MMS. Neuburgh Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Maximus by 1.9% in the first quarter. Neuburgh Advisers LLC now owns 1,696 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Acrospire Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Maximus by 183.3% in the first quarter. Acrospire Investment Management LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Glen Harbor Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Maximus by 1.9% in the first quarter. Glen Harbor Capital Management LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Maximus by 4.2% in the second quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 2,507 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elkfork Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Maximus by 1.9% in the first quarter. Elkfork Partners LLC now owns 2,968 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.89% of the company’s stock.
Maximus Company Profile
MAXIMUS, Inc provides business process services (BPS) to government health and human services agencies. The Company operates through three segments: U.S. Federal Services, Health Services and Human Services. The U.S. Federal Services segment provides BPS and program management for large government programs, independent health review and appeals services for both the United States Federal Government, and state-based programs and technology solutions for civilian federal programs.
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