William Blair Investment Management LLC Grows Position in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS)

William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) by 22.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 518,469 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 94,067 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 0.91% of Maximus worth $38,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Maximus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $420,000. Globeflex Capital L P increased its stake in shares of Maximus by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Globeflex Capital L P now owns 11,837 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $884,000 after buying an additional 1,630 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Maximus by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 19,097 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,426,000 after buying an additional 869 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Maximus by 109.2% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 820 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Maximus by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,650 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Maximus Stock Performance

Shares of MMS opened at $67.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $71.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 0.71. Maximus, Inc. has a 52-week low of $63.77 and a 52-week high of $93.97.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The health services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.22. Maximus had a return on equity of 21.95% and a net margin of 5.28%. Research analysts predict that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Maximus’s payout ratio is currently 25.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MMS. Raymond James raised Maximus from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Maximus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th.

Maximus 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.