Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Stock Price Down 6.8%

Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH)’s share price fell 6.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $321.64 and last traded at $331.75. 188,646 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 489,121 shares. The stock had previously closed at $356.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Baird R W upgraded Molina Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Molina Healthcare from $315.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare from $420.00 to $395.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $406.00 target price on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.00.

Molina Healthcare Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $19.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $323.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $347.44.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $5.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.73 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $9.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.75 billion. Molina Healthcare had a return on equity of 28.09% and a net margin of 2.84%. Molina Healthcare’s quarterly revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Molina Healthcare, Inc. will post 23.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Molina Healthcare news, CAO Maurice Hebert sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.52, for a total transaction of $136,182.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,282,583.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Molina Healthcare news, CAO Maurice Hebert sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.52, for a total transaction of $136,182.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,282,583.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven J. Orlando sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.21, for a total value of $339,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,114,260.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Molina Healthcare

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MOH. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Molina Healthcare by 516.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 10,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,206,000 after acquiring an additional 8,577 shares during the last quarter. BlackBarn Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,139,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 69.5% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 11,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,851,000 after purchasing an additional 4,840 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Molina Healthcare by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 27,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,864,000 after buying an additional 11,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Molina Healthcare by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,159,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

Molina Healthcare Company Profile

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.