Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 763 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Molina Healthcare were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MOH. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 18.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,449,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,151,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001,372 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth $214,801,000. Durable Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare in the first quarter worth $214,363,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 151.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 893,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,128,000 after purchasing an additional 538,493 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 25.6% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,457,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $819,633,000 after purchasing an additional 501,107 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

Molina Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE MOH opened at $360.84 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $394.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $370.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Molina Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $266.35 and a 12-month high of $423.92. The firm has a market cap of $21.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. Molina Healthcare had a net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The business had revenue of $9.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Molina Healthcare, Inc. will post 23.62 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MOH shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Molina Healthcare from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Molina Healthcare from $440.00 to $410.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $406.00 target price on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com cut Molina Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Molina Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $437.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Molina Healthcare has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $393.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Molina Healthcare

In other news, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 711 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.06, for a total transaction of $273,066.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,207 shares in the company, valued at $4,688,220.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 711 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.06, for a total transaction of $273,066.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,207 shares in the company, valued at $4,688,220.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Lowell Keim sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.56, for a total transaction of $5,798,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 36,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,121,423.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,711 shares of company stock worth $6,472,517 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Molina Healthcare Company 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.