Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) Short Interest Up 39.4% in February

Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,300,000 shares, an increase of 39.4% from the January 31st total of 1,650,000 shares. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 866,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Maximus Stock Up 4.7 %

NYSE:MMS traded up $3.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $67.39. 1,151,205 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 470,429. The firm has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 0.72. Maximus has a twelve month low of $62.49 and a twelve month high of $93.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $73.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.73.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The health services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.22. Maximus had a return on equity of 21.95% and a net margin of 5.28%. On average, research analysts expect that Maximus will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Saturday, February 15th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Maximus’s payout ratio is 25.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Maximus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Raymond James raised 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Maximus

In related news, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $988,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,167.68. This trade represents a 85.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Raymond B. Ruddy purchased 3,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $71.46 per share, with a total value of $249,395.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 112,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,040,679.20. The trade was a 3.20 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 7,008 shares of company stock worth $497,835. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Maximus

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMS. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Maximus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $259,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Maximus by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,782,150 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $207,687,000 after acquiring an additional 55,583 shares during the period. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Maximus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $252,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Maximus by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 168,936 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $12,611,000 after acquiring an additional 44,182 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Maximus by 306.8% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 376,055 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $28,073,000 after acquiring an additional 283,608 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

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.