Norges Bank Takes Position in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 957,045 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $71,443,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MMS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Maximus by 46.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 326,748 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $24,392,000 after acquiring an additional 102,982 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of Maximus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $339,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Maximus by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 21,927 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,637,000 after purchasing an additional 3,669 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Maximus by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,548,284 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $488,829,000 after buying an additional 205,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridge City Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Maximus by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 28,503 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,128,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. 97.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Maximus Price Performance

Maximus stock opened at $71.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29 and a beta of 0.71. Maximus, Inc. has a one year low of $63.77 and a one year high of $93.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $69.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.46.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last posted its 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 return on equity of 21.95% and a net margin of 5.28%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Maximus’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Maximus

In related news, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of Maximus stock in a transaction 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 approximately $171,167.68. This trade represents a 85.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jan Madsen sold 2,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total value of $165,144.69. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded 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 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd.

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.