Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $202.4375.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $129.00 price target on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered Molina Healthcare from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research raised Molina Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Molina Healthcare from $248.00 to $218.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th.

Insider Activity at Molina Healthcare

In other news, insider Jeff D. Barlow sold 17,811 shares of Molina Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.12, for a total transaction of $3,314,983.32. Following the sale, the insider owned 67,175 shares in the company, valued at $12,502,611. This trade represents a 20.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Maurice Hebert sold 600 shares of Molina Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total transaction of $114,930.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,815 shares in the company, valued at $2,454,713.25. This represents a 4.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Molina Healthcare by 217.0% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,934,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $561,475,000 after buying an additional 2,008,458 shares during the period. 8 Knots Management LLC purchased a new position in Molina Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $198,942,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in Molina Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at about $86,081,000. Madison Avenue Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at about $110,003,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at about $109,766,000. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Molina Healthcare Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of MOH stock opened at $194.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Molina Healthcare has a fifty-two week low of $121.06 and a fifty-two week high of $244.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $207.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.45. The stock has a market cap of $10.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,080.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 28.51 and a beta of 0.74.

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