What Happened?
Shares of government services provider Maximus (NYSE: MMS) jumped 3% in the morning session after the company's Board of Directors approved a 10% increase in its quarterly cash dividend.
The payout was raised to $0.33 per share from the prior $0.30 per share. According to President and CEO Bruce Caswell, this dividend increase reflected the company's recent earnings growth and its success in delivering critical government services. Adding to the positive news, analysts at Raymond James raised their price target for the stock to $95.00 from $90.00, citing margin growth as a key factor. The firm maintained an Outperform rating on the shares. Following the developments, the stock also traded at a new 52-week high.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $94.60, up 3.1% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Maximus’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 3 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
Maximus is up 9.4% since the beginning of the year, and at $94.60 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Maximus’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,226.
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