Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 24,775 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,025 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Molina Healthcare were worth $8,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Molina Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in Molina Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Molina Healthcare by 105.6% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Molina Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in Molina Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

Molina Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MOH opened at $360.84 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $394.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $370.71. Molina Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $266.35 and a 12 month high of $423.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $9.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.10 EPS. Molina Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Molina Healthcare, Inc. will post 23.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Molina Healthcare from $440.00 to $410.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Barclays started coverage on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $437.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $406.00 price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Molina Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Molina Healthcare has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $393.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mark Lowell Keim sold 15,000 shares of Molina Healthcare stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were 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 directly owns 36,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,121,423.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Molina Healthcare news, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 711 shares of Molina Healthcare stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.06, for a total value of $273,066.66. Following the transaction, 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 available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Lowell Keim sold 15,000 shares of Molina Healthcare stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.56, for a total transaction of $5,798,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 36,531 shares in the company, valued at $14,121,423.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,711 shares of company stock worth $6,472,517 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.