Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 5,391 Shares of Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Molina Healthcare, Inc. by 17.2% in Q1, now owning 25,885 shares valued at approximately $8.5 million.
• Molina Healthcare reported $5.48 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing estimates by 2 cents, but showed a revenue increase of 15.7% year-over-year.
• Recent analyst ratings have been mixed, with Cantor Fitzgerald maintaining a "neutral" rating and reducing the target price significantly from $312.00 to $210.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH - Free Report) by 17.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,885 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,391 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Molina Healthcare were worth $8,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MOH. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in Molina Healthcare by 126.3% during the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 86 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its position in Molina Healthcare by 930.0% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 103 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 60.7% in the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 90 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated purchased a new stake in Molina Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Molina Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MOH shares. Morgan Stanley downgraded Molina Healthcare from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $364.00 to $266.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $372.00 to $216.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays cut their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $270.00 to $186.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $400.00 to $330.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Molina Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 29th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $244.55.

Molina Healthcare Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE MOH traded down $2.15 on Wednesday, reaching $153.09. The company had a trading volume of 557,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 949,584. The stock's 50 day moving average is $245.64 and its 200-day moving average is $289.80. The stock has a market cap of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 0.52. 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 52 week low of $151.95 and a 52 week high of $365.23.

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 firm had revenue of $11.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.86 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Molina Healthcare, Inc will post 24.4 earnings per share 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.