Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) Short Interest Down 22.2% in February

Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,790,000 shares, a decrease of 22.2% from the February 13th total of 2,300,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 766,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 3.2% of the company's stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Maximus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Raymond James raised 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 note on Thursday, January 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Maximus news, CEO Bruce Caswell purchased 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.64 per share, for a total transaction of $247,240.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 275,929 shares in the company, valued at $19,491,624.56. This represents a 1.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 2,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,167.68. This trade represents a 85.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maximus

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Maximus by 79.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 356 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Maximus by 65.9% in the fourth 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 shares of Maximus by 2.7% in the third 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. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Maximus by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 52,400 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $3,912,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Maximus by 6.5% in the third 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company's stock.

Maximus Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of MMS stock traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $67.79. 224,582 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 480,896. The business's fifty day moving average is $72.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.72. Maximus has a 12-month low of $63.77 and a 12-month high of $93.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 0.71.

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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, 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, research analysts expect that Maximus will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 15th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Maximus's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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