First Trust Advisors LP Trims Stake in DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA)

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its stake in DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 226,922 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,331 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.28% of DaVita worth $33,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of DaVita during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,100,000. Freedom Investment Management Inc. grew its position in DaVita by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,790 shares of the company's stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in DaVita by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 525 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Arrow Capital Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of DaVita in the fourth quarter worth about $1,496,000. Finally, Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of DaVita during the 4th quarter worth about $231,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.12% of the company's stock.

DaVita Price Performance

DVA traded up $0.01 on Friday, reaching $139.57. 600,714 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 841,722. DaVita Inc. has a twelve month low of $131.27 and a twelve month high of $179.60. The stock has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.18, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $146.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.24.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DVA. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of DaVita in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of DaVita from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of DaVita from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $184.00 price objective on DaVita in a report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, DaVita presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $166.33.

DaVita Company Profile

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.