Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 21,347 Shares of Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in shares of Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) by 72.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,137 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,347 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Molina Healthcare were worth $2,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Molina Healthcare by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,614,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $900,787,000 after buying an additional 13,001 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Molina Healthcare by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 949,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,343,000 after purchasing an additional 111,154 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 470,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,026,000 after purchasing an additional 84,929 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 36.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 463,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,810,000 after purchasing an additional 123,121 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 10,030 shares in the last quarter. 98.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Molina Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of MOH stock opened at $295.19 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.54. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $272.69 and a one year high of $423.92. The company’s 50-day moving average is $305.16 and its 200 day moving average is $318.66.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $6.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.96 by $0.05. Molina Healthcare had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The firm had revenue of $10.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Molina Healthcare, Inc. will post 23.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MOH. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $406.00 price target on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Molina Healthcare from $360.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Molina Healthcare from $359.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $405.00 to $331.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Molina Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $361.91.

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.