Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $193.4667.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MOH shares. Morgan Stanley set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $160.00 price target on Molina Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Molina Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $224.00 price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, January 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 357 shares of Molina Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.02, for a total value of $51,058.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,623,563.04. This trade represents a 3.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Molina Healthcare

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Horizon Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Molina Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $311,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 99.8% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 5,020.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 451.1% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 42,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,368,000 after acquiring an additional 34,751 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Molina Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at $831,000. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Molina Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of MOH opened at $184.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 0.49. Molina Healthcare has a 12 month low of $133.40 and a 12 month high of $359.97. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Molina Healthcare Company Profile

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.