CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Cuts Stake in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lessened its holdings in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS - Free Report) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,239 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 4,052 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.10% of Maximus worth $4,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Maximus by 285.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,971 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $15,927,000 after buying an additional 126,573 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Maximus in the third quarter valued at $319,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Maximus by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,289 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in shares of Maximus by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 66,805 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $6,224,000 after purchasing an additional 2,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Maximus by 49.1% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,674 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,809 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on MMS shares. Raymond James upgraded shares of Maximus from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Maximus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $988,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,167.68. The trade was a 85.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jan Madsen sold 2,439 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total value of $165,144.69. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,097 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,225,347.87. The trade was a 11.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Maximus Price Performance

Shares of MMS traded down $1.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $67.72. 324,726 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 553,643. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Maximus, Inc. has a 52-week low of $63.77 and a 52-week high of $93.97. The company has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.40.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The health services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. Maximus's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.81%.

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.