Ameriprise Financial Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its position in Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH - Free Report) by 24.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,120 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,577 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.13% of Molina Healthcare worth $21,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MOH. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Molina Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Molina Healthcare by 81.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 196 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Molina Healthcare by 337.0% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 201 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Molina Healthcare by 895.0% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 199 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Molina Healthcare Stock Up 3.5%

Molina Healthcare stock traded up $11.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $325.02. 518,892 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 688,746. The business has a fifty day moving average of $324.07 and a 200 day moving average of $308.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market cap of $17.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.63. Molina Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.32 and a 12-month high of $365.23.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $6.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.96 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $11.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.86 billion. Molina Healthcare had a return on equity of 28.13% and a net margin of 2.90%. Molina Healthcare's revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.73 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Molina Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Molina Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $414.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised Molina Healthcare from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $295.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised Molina Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays upped their target price on Molina Healthcare from $339.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Molina Healthcare from $374.00 to $325.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $365.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 669 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total value of $214,414.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,603,702. This trade represents a 5.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joseph M. Zubretsky sold 87,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 $82,484,262.90. The trade was a 25.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 89,169 shares of company stock worth $28,520,995 over the last 90 days. 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.