Maximus (NYSE:MMS) Reaches New 12-Month Low - What's Next?

Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $68.30 and last traded at $69.37, with a volume of 153562 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $70.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MMS. Raymond James upgraded shares of Maximus from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Maximus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Maximus Stock Down 2.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 0.72. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $74.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.12.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The health services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.22. Maximus had a net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 21.95%. Research analysts anticipate that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Saturday, February 15th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Maximus's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Maximus news, CEO Bruce Caswell acquired 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.64 per share, with a total value of $247,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,929 shares in the company, valued at $19,491,624.56. This trade represents a 1.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michelle F. Link sold 2,208 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.83, for a total transaction of $163,016.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $484,841.61. This trade represents a 25.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 7,063 shares of company stock valued at $502,017. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maximus

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMS. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Maximus in the second quarter worth about $216,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Maximus by 150.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 862 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Maximus by 8.1% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,445 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Maximus by 7.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,386 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Maximus by 22.2% in the third quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,500 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 97.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.