Van ECK Associates Corp Decreases Stake in Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH)

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its position in Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH - Free Report) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,003 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,071 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Molina Healthcare were worth $3,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Molina Healthcare by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,614,311 shares of the company's stock valued at $900,787,000 after acquiring an additional 13,001 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Molina Healthcare by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 390,078 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,405,000 after acquiring an additional 10,030 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Molina Healthcare by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 173,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,919,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 149,573 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,533,000 after purchasing an additional 3,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 125,486 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,522,000 after purchasing an additional 15,993 shares during the last quarter. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MOH. UBS Group decreased their target price on Molina Healthcare from $374.00 to $325.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (down previously from $378.00) on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $372.00 to $339.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $360.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $353.17.

Molina Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of MOH traded down $7.57 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $283.89. 1,063,437 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 762,238. The stock has a market cap of $15.76 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $293.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $314.41. Molina Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $262.32 and a 12 month high of $423.92.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $5.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.74 by ($0.69). Molina Healthcare had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 28.13%. Equities analysts expect that Molina Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.4 EPS for the current year.

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.