Barclays PLC Sells 13,796 Shares of Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS)

Barclays PLC reduced its holdings in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS - Free Report) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 157,175 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 13,796 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.28% of Maximus worth $11,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Maximus by 51.9% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28,133 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $2,100,000 after acquiring an additional 9,607 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Maximus by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,773 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Maximus in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,169,000. Martingale Asset Management L P grew its stake in Maximus by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 33,384 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $2,492,000 after acquiring an additional 2,106 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Maximus by 66.6% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 403,600 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $30,129,000 after acquiring an additional 161,400 shares in the last quarter. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Maximus Stock Down 1.6 %

MMS traded down $1.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.72. 324,726 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 552,250. The company has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 0.68. Maximus, Inc. has a one year low of $63.77 and a one year high of $93.97. The company's fifty day moving average price is $67.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.72.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS - Get Free Report) last announced 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, analysts expect that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Maximus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Maximus's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James upgraded Maximus from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Maximus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Maximus

In related news, Director Jan Madsen sold 2,439 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total transaction of $165,144.69. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,225,347.87. This trade represents a 11.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of Maximus 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,167.68. This represents a 85.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% 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.