Sterling Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) by 22.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,821 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 337 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Molina Healthcare were worth $530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 76.1% in the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 4,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,000 after buying an additional 1,811 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth approximately $544,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 123.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in Molina Healthcare in the third quarter worth $2,947,000. Institutional investors own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

Molina Healthcare Price Performance

MOH opened at $322.57 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $313.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $308.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.70. Molina Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $262.32 and a 52-week high of $370.99.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $5.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts predict that Molina Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.4 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MOH. Wells Fargo & Company raised Molina Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $295.00 to $372.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Molina Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on Molina Healthcare from $372.00 to $339.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up previously from $331.00) on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Molina Healthcare has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $359.42.

Insider Activity

In other Molina Healthcare news, Director Steven J. Orlando sold 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,375 shares in the company, valued at $5,235,608.75. The trade was a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Molina Healthcare 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.