Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.30

Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 5th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of 0.30 per share by the health services provider on Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th.

Maximus has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.6% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Maximus has a dividend payout ratio of 20.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Maximus to earn $5.72 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.0%.

Maximus Stock Performance

MMS traded up $1.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $81.06. 208,618 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 261,228. Maximus has a 1 year low of $72.39 and a 1 year high of $89.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84 and a beta of 0.72. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $82.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.80.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The health services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Maximus had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 15.68%. Maximus's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Maximus will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MMS. Raymond James cut shares of Maximus from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Maximus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th.

Insider Activity at Maximus

In other Maximus news, CFO David Mutryn sold 8,000 shares of Maximus stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.95, for a total transaction of $671,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 5,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $430,159.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maximus

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMS. Macquarie Group Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Maximus during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in shares of Maximus during the 4th quarter worth $77,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Maximus by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,303 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Maximus by 8,288.2% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,426 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $120,000 after acquiring an additional 1,409 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Maximus by 92.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,604 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $120,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.21% 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.