Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Maximus, Inc. $MMS

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in Maximus by 30.7% in the first quarter, buying 53,231 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 226,399 shares worth about $14.5 million.
• Maximus has seen mixed analyst sentiment, with recent rating changes including downgrades from Weiss Ratings and Zacks Research, while Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock to buy; overall, the consensus rating remains Hold.
• The company recently beat quarterly EPS expectations at $2.07 per share and reiterated FY2026 EPS guidance of $8.25 to $8.55; it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, yielding about 2.3% annually.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS - Free Report) by 30.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,399 shares of the health services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 53,231 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.42% of Maximus worth $14,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Maximus by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Maximus during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Maximus during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Maximus by 225.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 439 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Maximus by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 451 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Maximus from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Zacks Research cut shares of Maximus from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Maximus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Maximus presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Maximus Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMS opened at $57.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $58.56 and a 200 day moving average of $69.87. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.58 and a beta of 0.60. Maximus, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.73 and a 52 week high of $100.00.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The health services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.09. Maximus had a return on equity of 25.10% and a net margin of 7.02%.The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Maximus has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.250-8.550 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Maximus, Inc. will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Maximus Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Maximus's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.76%.

About Maximus

Maximus, Inc NYSE: MMS is a global provider of government services focused on delivering health and human services programs. The company partners with federal, state, and local agencies to administer and manage programs that support individuals and families across various stages of life. Key service areas include eligibility determination and enrollment services for Medicaid, Medicare, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and other public assistance programs, as well as call center operations, case management and program integrity solutions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.