Clark Estates Inc. NY Invests $1.85 Million in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS)

Key Points

• Clark Estates Inc. NY has acquired 27,138 shares of Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS), valuing the investment at approximately $1.85 million, as disclosed to the SEC.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in Maximus, with Vanguard Group Inc. boosting its position by 3.2% in the last quarter.
• Maximus recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.01 EPS, exceeding analysts' estimates, and announced a $0.30 quarterly dividend with an annualized yield of 1.67%.

Clark Estates Inc. NY acquired a new position in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 27,138 shares of the health services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,851,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Maximus by 11.9% during the first quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,833 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc lifted its position in shares of Maximus by 2.3% during the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 9,877 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Maximus by 5.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,519 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Maximus by 70.2% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 606 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Maximus by 0.7% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,936 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $2,723,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. 97.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Maximus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th.

Insider Activity at Maximus

In other news, Director Gayathri Rajan sold 7,913 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.38, for a total transaction of $572,742.94. Following the sale, the director owned 14,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,028,157.90. This trade represents a 35.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Maximus Stock Performance

NYSE:MMS traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 361,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 394,607. Maximus, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $63.77 and a fifty-two week high of $93.97. The firm's 50 day moving average is $71.30 and its 200-day moving average is $70.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 0.61.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The health services provider reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.64. Maximus had a net margin of 5.56% and a return on equity of 23.37%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. Maximus's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Maximus's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.86%.

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.