Marshall Wace LLP Buys 208,463 Shares of Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS)

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) by 1,319.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 224,267 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 208,463 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Maximus were worth $16,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Maximus by 79.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 356 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Maximus in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Maximus by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 453 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Maximus during the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Maximus by 62.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 786 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. 97.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Maximus Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MMS opened at $67.29 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Maximus, Inc. has a 12-month low of $63.77 and a 12-month high of $93.97. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.18.

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 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Maximus’s payout ratio is presently 25.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MMS. StockNews.com lowered Maximus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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 target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jan Madsen sold 2,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total transaction of $165,144.69. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,097 shares in the company, valued at $1,225,347.87. This represents a 11.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of Maximus stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $988,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,167.68. This trade represents a 85.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.