Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Lowered to Hold Rating by Baird R W

Baird R W lowered shares of Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on MOH. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Molina Healthcare from $374.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Guggenheim began coverage on Molina Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (down from $378.00) on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Molina Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $295.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $359.42.

Molina Healthcare Stock Down 3.7 %

Molina Healthcare stock opened at $335.57 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $18.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $312.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $308.21. Molina Healthcare has a twelve month low of $262.32 and a twelve month high of $373.22.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $5.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.74 by ($0.69). Molina Healthcare had a return on equity of 28.13% and a net margin of 2.90%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Molina Healthcare will post 24.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Steven J. Orlando sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.33, for a total transaction of $301,330.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,235,608.75. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Molina Healthcare

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,632,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $766,111,000 after acquiring an additional 181,073 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Molina Healthcare by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,801,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,214,000 after buying an additional 427,276 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,144,000 after buying an additional 34,992 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,327,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $386,229,000 after buying an additional 294,180 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 688,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,307,000 after acquiring an additional 91,229 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

About Molina Healthcare

Molina Healthcare, Inc provides managed healthcare services to low-income families and individuals under the Medicaid and Medicare programs and through the state insurance marketplaces. It operates in four segments: Medicaid, Medicare, Marketplace, and Other. The company served in across 19 states. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Long Beach, California.