Citigroup Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH)

Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH - Free Report) by 51.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,624 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,877 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Molina Healthcare worth $21,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MOH. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 67.2% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 2,326 shares of the company's stock worth $677,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 110.4% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 547 shares of the company's stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,821 shares of the company's stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in Molina Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth approximately $303,000. Finally, Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in Molina Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,337,000. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MOH shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Molina Healthcare from $216.00 to $198.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Barclays lowered their target price on Molina Healthcare from $270.00 to $186.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Molina Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $414.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $272.00 to $184.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Molina Healthcare from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $364.00 to $266.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $242.91.

Molina Healthcare Stock Performance

MOH stock traded up $7.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $167.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,711,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,291,864. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $223.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $281.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Molina Healthcare, Inc has a 1 year low of $151.95 and a 1 year high of $365.23. The stock has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.25 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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