Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Buys 869 Shares of Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,097 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Maximus were worth $1,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position 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 buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in Maximus by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 453 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Petrus Trust Company LTA increased its position in Maximus by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Petrus Trust Company LTA now owns 7,084 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $660,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in Maximus by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,927 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in Maximus by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,650 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $646,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Maximus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Raymond James upgraded Maximus from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd.

Insider Transactions at Maximus

In other news, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,512 shares in the company, valued at $171,167.68. This trade represents a 85.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Maximus Stock Performance

Shares of MMS opened at $68.67 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.96. 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 company has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Maximus Dividend Announcement

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

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.