Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 40,451 Shares of Molina Healthcare, Inc $MOH

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Molina Healthcare by 34.7%, selling 40,451 shares during Q1, resulting in ownership of approximately 0.14% of the company valued at $24.99 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Teacher Retirement System of Texas and Farther Finance Advisors LLC, made significant purchases or increases in their positions in Molina Healthcare during the first quarter, contributing to 98.50% institutional ownership.
• Analysts have lowered price targets for Molina Healthcare, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $242.91, indicating mixed evaluations from various financial institutions.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH - Free Report) by 34.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 76,004 shares of the company's stock after selling 40,451 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.14% of Molina Healthcare worth $24,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MOH. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 126.3% during the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 86 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 930.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 103 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 60.7% during the first 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. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated purchased a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MOH. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $260.00 to $180.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (down previously from $312.00) on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Friday, July 25th. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Molina Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $414.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $216.00 to $198.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $242.91.

Molina Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE MOH traded up $2.7710 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $176.6210. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,027,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 983,919. Molina Healthcare, Inc has a 12 month low of $151.95 and a 12 month high of $365.23. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $218.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $279.84. The company has a market cap of $9.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.68 and a beta of 0.52. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.50 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $11.43 billion during 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Molina Healthcare, Inc will post 24.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Molina Healthcare

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