Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Acquires New Position in Molina Healthcare, Inc $MOH

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired 33,147 shares of Molina Healthcare, valued at approximately $10.9 million, increasing its stake to 0.06% according to a recent SEC filing.
• Multiple analysts have downgraded Molina Healthcare's stock ratings, with JPMorgan and UBS both setting new price targets significantly lower than previous estimates, reflecting a cautious outlook.
• The company's recent earnings report revealed a quarterly revenue increase of 15.7% year-over-year, though it fell short of analysts' earnings expectations, posting an EPS of $5.48 against a consensus of $5.50.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 33,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,918,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Molina Healthcare at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MOH. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 74,593.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 667,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,708,000 after acquiring an additional 666,122 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 1,641.3% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 409,807 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,274,000 after acquiring an additional 386,273 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,099,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,441,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Molina Healthcare by 138.4% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 177,150 shares of the company's stock worth $51,560,000 after purchasing an additional 102,840 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Molina Healthcare from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $364.00 to $266.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (down previously from $335.00) on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare from $272.00 to $184.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (down previously from $312.00) on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare from $270.00 to $186.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $242.91.

Insider Activity at Molina Healthcare

In other Molina Healthcare news, COO James Woys acquired 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $155.94 per share, with a total value of $1,559,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 74,331 shares in the company, valued at $11,591,176.14. This represents a 15.54% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ronna Romney sold 700 shares of Molina Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.74, for a total transaction of $107,618.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,633,719.94. The trade was a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company's stock.

Molina Healthcare Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MOH traded down $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $173.77. 1,982,962 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 990,321. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56 and a beta of 0.52. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $218.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $279.84. Molina Healthcare, Inc has a 12-month low of $151.95 and a 12-month high of $365.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

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