Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Invests $55.10 Million in DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 368,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,100,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.45% of DaVita at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in DaVita by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 5,300 shares of the company's stock worth $869,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of DaVita by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 48,137 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,846,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of DaVita by 45.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,688 shares of the company's stock worth $932,000 after buying an additional 1,771 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of DaVita by 134.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 54,901 shares of the company's stock worth $8,885,000 after acquiring an additional 31,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of DaVita by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 609,076 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,846,000 after purchasing an additional 92,014 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of DaVita in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded DaVita from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of DaVita from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $184.00 price target on shares of DaVita in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, DaVita has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $166.33.

DaVita Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:DVA traded up $0.71 on Thursday, reaching $139.64. 648,254 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 906,159. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.04. DaVita Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.96 and a 1-year high of $179.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.18. The company's 50 day moving average is $147.16 and its 200-day moving average is $155.53.

DaVita (NYSE:DVA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.10. DaVita had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 115.48%. Equities research analysts anticipate that DaVita Inc. will post 10.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About DaVita

DaVita Inc provides kidney dialysis services for patients suffering from chronic kidney failure in the United States. The company operates kidney dialysis centers and provides related lab services in outpatient dialysis centers. It also offers outpatient, hospital inpatient, and home-based hemodialysis services; operates clinical laboratories that provide routine laboratory tests for dialysis and other physician-prescribed laboratory tests for ESRD patients; and management and administrative services to outpatient dialysis centers.