Maximus (NYSE:MMS) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $66.52 and last traded at $67.13, with a volume of 560923 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $67.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MMS shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Maximus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James upgraded 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 Trading Up 0.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $74.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The health services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.22. Maximus had a net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 21.95%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

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 issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Maximus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Raymond B. Ruddy purchased 3,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $71.46 per share, with a total value of $249,395.40. Following the completion of 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bruce Caswell acquired 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $70.64 per share, with a total value of $247,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 275,929 shares in the company, valued at $19,491,624.56. This trade represents a 1.28 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 7,063 shares of company stock valued at $502,017 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Maximus in the fourth quarter worth about $1,718,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Maximus by 189.1% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 423,298 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $31,599,000 after purchasing an additional 276,859 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Maximus by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 815,133 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $60,850,000 after buying an additional 94,858 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its position in Maximus by 128.8% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 15,328 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,144,000 after buying an additional 8,628 shares during the period. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Maximus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $978,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

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.