Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Cuts Stake in Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. trimmed its stake in Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 870 shares of the company’s stock after selling 265 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Molina Healthcare were worth $253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MOH. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Molina Healthcare by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 17,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,227,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Molina Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,850,000. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in Molina Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $296,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Molina Healthcare by 157.0% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 33,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,619,000 after buying an additional 20,193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MOH has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Molina Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $350.00 price target (down from $378.00) on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $372.00 to $339.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Molina Healthcare from $382.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Molina Healthcare

In related news, Director Steven J. Orlando sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.33, for a total transaction of $301,330.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,235,608.75. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Molina Healthcare Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MOH opened at $322.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.66 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $302.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $309.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Molina Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.32 and a 12-month high of $409.07.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last released 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 return on equity of 28.13% and a net margin of 2.90%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Molina Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.