Empowered Funds LLC Makes New $8.14 Million Investment in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS)

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 109,023 shares of the health services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,139,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.18% of Maximus as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MMS. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Maximus during the third quarter worth about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Maximus by 79.8% during the fourth 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Maximus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Maximus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Maximus by 150.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 862 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.21% of the company's stock.

Maximus Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMS traded down $2.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.68. 631,287 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 729,188. Maximus, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.20 and a twelve month high of $93.97. The firm has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 0.72. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $74.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The health services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Maximus's payout ratio is 25.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Raymond B. Ruddy acquired 3,490 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $71.46 per share, for a total transaction of $249,395.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 112,520 shares in the company, valued at $8,040,679.20. This represents a 3.20 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Bruce Caswell bought 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,491,624.56. This represents a 1.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 7,063 shares of company stock worth $502,017. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MMS shares. StockNews.com raised Maximus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James raised shares of Maximus from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd.

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.