Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Earns Overweight Rating from Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $364.00 target price on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Molina Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $295.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $375.00 target price (up from $331.00) on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Baird R W lowered Molina Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Molina Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $414.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $364.21.

Molina Healthcare Stock Down 0.6%

Molina Healthcare stock opened at $293.98 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $15.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $317.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $307.22. 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 has a 1-year low of $262.32 and a 1-year high of $365.23.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $6.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.96 by $0.12. Molina Healthcare had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 28.13%. The company had revenue of $11.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.73 EPS. Molina Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Molina Healthcare will post 24.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Molina Healthcare

In other news, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total transaction of $214,414.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,603,702. This represents a 5.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Joseph M. Zubretsky sold 87,500 shares of Molina Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.06, for a total value of $28,005,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 257,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,484,262.90. This trade represents a 25.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Molina Healthcare

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MOH. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 126.3% in the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 86 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 930.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 60.7% during the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 90 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elequin Capital LP lifted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 170.6% during the 1st quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 92 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

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.