Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Molina Healthcare, Inc $MOH

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 663,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $152,339,000. Molina Healthcare accounts for approximately 2.0% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC owned 1.27% of Molina Healthcare as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 35.5% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 52,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,947,000 after purchasing an additional 13,690 shares during the period. Asset One Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Molina Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth about $317,000. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new stake in Molina Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,719,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Molina Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at about $871,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in Molina Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at about $333,000. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MOH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $169.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $286.00 price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $230.00 target price on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Molina Healthcare from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Molina Healthcare from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Molina Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $202.44.

Molina Healthcare Stock Down 0.8%

Molina Healthcare stock opened at $198.65 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,103.57, a PEG ratio of 28.70 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. Molina Healthcare, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $121.06 and a fifty-two week high of $244.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $211.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.68.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.12. Molina Healthcare had a positive return on equity of 3.73% and a negative net margin of 0.02%.The firm had revenue of $10.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Molina Healthcare, Inc will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current year.

About Molina Healthcare

Molina Healthcare, Inc is a managed care company specializing in government-sponsored health insurance programs. The company offers Medicaid managed care plans, Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans, and individual Marketplace plans under the Affordable Care Act. Through an integrated care model, Molina emphasizes preventive and primary care services, care coordination, and disease management to improve health outcomes for its members.

The company traces its roots to the early 1980s, when Dr.