Alliancebernstein L.P. Decreases Stock Holdings in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its stake in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS - Free Report) by 88.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 126,208 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 952,024 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.22% of Maximus worth $9,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMS. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new position in Maximus during the 4th quarter worth $4,618,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its holdings in Maximus by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 296,476 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $22,132,000 after acquiring an additional 83,390 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Maximus by 62.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 786 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Maximus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,113,000. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Maximus by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 32,134 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $2,399,000 after purchasing an additional 8,138 shares in the last quarter. 97.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MMS. Raymond James raised Maximus from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Maximus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $988,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,512 shares in the company, valued at $171,167.68. The trade was a 85.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jan Madsen sold 2,439 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total transaction of $165,144.69. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,097 shares in the company, valued at $1,225,347.87. This trade represents a 11.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Maximus Stock Performance

NYSE:MMS traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $68.15. 20,787 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 546,706. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.72. Maximus, Inc. has a 52-week low of $63.77 and a 52-week high of $93.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 0.68. The company's 50 day moving average price is $67.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.82.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Maximus Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Maximus's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.81%.

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.