Short Interest in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) Grows By 29.9%

Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,000,000 shares, an increase of 29.9% from the March 15th total of 1,540,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 698,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 2,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,167.68. This represents a 85.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jan Madsen sold 2,439 shares of Maximus stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 18,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,225,347.87. This trade represents a 11.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Maximus by 79.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 356 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Maximus in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Maximus by 67.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 732 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Maximus in the 4th quarter worth about $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Maximus Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of MMS stock opened at $67.29 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $67.60 and a 200 day moving average of $75.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 0.68. Maximus has a 1-year low of $63.77 and a 1-year high of $93.97.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last issued 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Maximus will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Maximus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Maximus’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of Maximus from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Maximus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report 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.