Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Acquires New Shares in Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired 2,025 shares of Molina Healthcare, Inc, valued at approximately $667,000, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Molina Healthcare reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $5.48, slightly missing the consensus estimate of $5.50, while revenue increased by 15.7% year-over-year.
• Several analysts have downgraded their target prices for Molina Healthcare, with JPMorgan Chase reducing it from $272.00 to $184.00, reflecting a more cautious outlook on the stock.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $667,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,801,113 shares of the company's stock valued at $524,214,000 after buying an additional 427,276 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,909 shares of the company's stock worth $417,144,000 after purchasing an additional 34,992 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,327,021 shares of the company's stock worth $386,229,000 after purchasing an additional 294,180 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 688,245 shares of the company's stock worth $200,307,000 after purchasing an additional 91,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 74,593.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 667,015 shares of the company's stock worth $219,708,000 after purchasing an additional 666,122 shares during the last quarter. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MOH. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $372.00 to $216.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Molina Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 29th. Guggenheim began coverage on Molina Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Baird R W downgraded Molina Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $270.00 to $186.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $244.55.

Molina Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE:MOH traded down $2.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $152.95. 557,232 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 949,584. Molina Healthcare, Inc has a twelve month low of $151.95 and a twelve month high of $365.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $245.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.80.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.50 by ($0.02). Molina Healthcare had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 27.72%. The company had revenue of $11.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.86 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Molina Healthcare, Inc will post 24.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.