Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Maximus, Inc. $MMS

Key Points

• Clark Capital Management Group Inc. invested $2.91 million in Maximus, purchasing 42,654 shares, now owning about 0.08% of the company.
• Maximus reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.16, exceeding estimates, and is forecasting a FY 2025 EPS guidance of 7.350-7.550.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, equating to an annualized dividend of $1.20, with a yield of 1.4% and a payout ratio of 22.10%.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 42,654 shares of the health services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,909,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned 0.08% of Maximus as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMS. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Maximus by 177.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,329 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $79,341,000 after acquiring an additional 750,031 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Maximus by 40.0% in the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,729,305 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $117,921,000 after acquiring an additional 494,372 shares during the period. SG Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Maximus during the fourth quarter worth about $30,285,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its stake in Maximus by 65.4% during the first quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 911,511 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $62,156,000 after buying an additional 360,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners bought a new stake in Maximus during the first quarter worth about $20,983,000. Institutional investors own 97.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MMS. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Maximus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Maximus from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Maximus currently has an average rating of "Strong Buy" and an average price target of $90.00.

Maximus Price Performance

Shares of MMS stock traded down $0.93 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $87.41. 591,056 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 569,126. Maximus, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $63.77 and a fifty-two week high of $93.94. The stock's fifty day moving average is $78.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.59. The company has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 2.27.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The health services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.77. Maximus had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 24.44%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. Maximus's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Maximus has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.350-7.550 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Maximus's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.10%.

About Maximus

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.