Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Downgraded by Baird R W to “Hold”

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) was downgraded by analysts at Baird R W from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on MOH. Mizuho upped their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $376.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Molina Healthcare from $374.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Molina Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Molina Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $295.00 to $372.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $359.42.

Molina Healthcare Trading Down 3.7 %

MOH opened at $335.57 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $18.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. Molina Healthcare has a one year low of $262.32 and a one year high of $373.22. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $312.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $308.21.

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

Insider Activity

In other Molina Healthcare news, Director Steven J. Orlando sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.33, for a total transaction of $301,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,375 shares in the company, valued at $5,235,608.75. The trade was a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MOH. Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new position in Molina Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth about $420,000. Arvest Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 23.0% in the 1st quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 3,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,132,000 after buying an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in Molina Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $137,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Molina Healthcare by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 29,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,736,000 after acquiring an additional 2,562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Molina Healthcare by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 16,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,414,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares during the period. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.