Maximus (NYSE:MMS) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Separately, 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 report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Maximus Stock Performance

Shares of MMS stock opened at $69.86 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 0.72. Maximus has a fifty-two week low of $68.30 and a fifty-two week high of $93.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.38.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The health services provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.22. Maximus had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 20.95%. Analysts expect that Maximus will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Maximus

In related news, Director Raymond B. Ruddy bought 3,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $71.46 per share, with a total value of $249,395.40. Following the purchase, the director now owns 112,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,040,679.20. This trade represents a 3.20 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Bruce Caswell acquired 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $19,491,624.56. This trade represents a 1.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 7,063 shares of company stock worth $502,017 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maximus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMS. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Maximus during the third quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Maximus during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Maximus during the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Maximus by 62.4% in the fourth 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. 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.