Royce & Associates LP Increases Holdings in Molina Healthcare, Inc $MOH

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in Molina Healthcare by 36% in the fourth quarter, adding 13,910 shares to bring its total to 52,521 shares worth about $9.1 million.
• Institutional interest in MOH remains very high, with several large funds also expanding positions; 98.5% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
• Molina Healthcare recently beat earnings expectations with Q1 EPS of $2.35 versus $1.57 expected, though revenue came in slightly below estimates and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold.

Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH - Free Report) by 36.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,521 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,910 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.10% of Molina Healthcare worth $9,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MOH. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 217.0% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,934,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $561,475,000 after acquiring an additional 2,008,458 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 344.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 963,526 shares of the company's stock valued at $184,380,000 after acquiring an additional 746,639 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 320.7% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 603,934 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,569,000 after acquiring an additional 460,372 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare in the second quarter valued at about $79,665,000. Finally, Long Focus Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare in the third quarter valued at about $49,269,000. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Molina Healthcare Stock Performance

MOH opened at $177.62 on Friday. Molina Healthcare, Inc has a 52-week low of $121.06 and a 52-week high of $311.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $9.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.55 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $163.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.70.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.78. Molina Healthcare had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 0.42%.The firm had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.08 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Molina Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000- EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Molina Healthcare, Inc will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Molina Healthcare

In related news, insider Jeff D. Barlow sold 17,811 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.12, for a total value of $3,314,983.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 67,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,502,611. This represents a 20.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Maurice Hebert sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $114,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,454,713.25. The trade was a 4.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MOH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Molina Healthcare from $175.00 to $144.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $161.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $128.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Molina Healthcare from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Molina Healthcare from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $178.53.

Molina Healthcare Company Profile

Molina Healthcare, Inc is a managed care company specializing in government-sponsored health insurance programs. The company offers Medicaid managed care plans, Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans, and individual Marketplace plans under the Affordable Care Act. Through an integrated care model, Molina emphasizes preventive and primary care services, care coordination, and disease management to improve health outcomes for its members.

The company traces its roots to the early 1980s, when Dr.

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