Short Interest in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) Declines By 22.2%

by · The Cerbat Gem

Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS – Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,790,000 shares, a decline of 22.2% from the February 13th total of 2,300,000 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 766,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Insider Transactions at Maximus

In other news, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $988,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,167.68. The trade was a 85.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Maximus in the fourth quarter valued at about $71,443,000. SG Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Maximus in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,285,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Maximus by 74.8% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 882,953 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $65,912,000 after acquiring an additional 377,705 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Maximus during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $22,661,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Maximus by 306.8% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 376,055 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $28,073,000 after buying an additional 283,608 shares in the last quarter. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Maximus Stock Up 1.0 %

Maximus stock traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.67. 433,824 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 481,975. Maximus has a 52-week low of $63.77 and a 52-week high of $93.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $71.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS – Get Free Report) last released 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 expect that Maximus will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Maximus Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, February 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Maximus’s payout ratio is 25.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MMS shares. Raymond James upgraded shares of Maximus from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Maximus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th.

Get Our Latest Research Report on Maximus

About Maximus

(Get Free Report)

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.

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