Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 2,389 Shares of Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,160 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,389 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Molina Healthcare worth $25,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Molina Healthcare by 2,500.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 104 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare during the second quarter worth $40,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare in the second quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Molina Healthcare in the third quarter valued at about $62,000. 98.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $350.00 price objective (down previously from $378.00) on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Molina Healthcare from $359.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $406.00 price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Molina Healthcare from $405.00 to $331.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Molina Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $361.91.

Molina Healthcare Trading Up 0.2 %

MOH traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $295.19. 130,888 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 556,101. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.99, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.54. Molina Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $272.69 and a one year high of $423.92. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $305.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $318.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $6.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.96 by $0.05. Molina Healthcare had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The business had revenue of $10.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.05 EPS. Molina Healthcare's quarterly revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Molina Healthcare, Inc. will post 23.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.