Nomura Holdings Inc. Invests $547,000 in Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $547,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. Numerai GP LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth about $395,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,694 shares of the company's stock worth $2,239,000 after buying an additional 1,234 shares during the last quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 877 shares of the company's stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 537,057 shares of the company's stock worth $156,310,000 after buying an additional 32,273 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.50% of the company's stock.

Molina Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MOH traded up $2.57 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $307.80. The company had a trading volume of 423,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 692,698. Molina Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $262.32 and a twelve month high of $365.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market cap of $16.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.63. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $324.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $307.58.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on MOH shares. Baird R W downgraded Molina Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $375.00 price target (up previously from $331.00) on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays upped their price target on Molina Healthcare from $339.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Molina Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $414.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Molina Healthcare from $374.00 to $325.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $365.38.

Insider Activity at Molina Healthcare

In other Molina Healthcare news, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 669 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total value of $214,414.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,603,702. This represents a 5.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Steven J. Orlando sold 1,000 shares of Molina Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.33, for a total transaction of $301,330.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,235,608.75. This represents a 5.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,169 shares of company stock valued at $28,520,995. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Molina Healthcare 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.