O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Sells 2,095 Shares of Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) by 38.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,296 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 2,095 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Maximus were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in Maximus during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,618,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its stake in Maximus by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 296,476 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $22,132,000 after purchasing an additional 83,390 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Maximus by 62.4% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 786 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Maximus during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,113,000. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Maximus by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 32,134 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,399,000 after buying an additional 8,138 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Maximus Stock Performance

NYSE MMS opened at $68.41 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $63.77 and a 1-year high of $93.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a PE ratio of 14.71 and a beta of 0.68.

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 net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 21.95%. On average, research analysts predict that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Maximus’s dividend payout ratio is 25.81%.

Insider Activity at Maximus

In related news, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 $171,167.68. This trade represents a 85.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jan Madsen sold 2,439 shares of Maximus stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total transaction of $165,144.69. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages 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 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Maximus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th.

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.