Verition Fund Management LLC Buys 7,281 Shares of DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA)

Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA - Free Report) by 313.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,603 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,281 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC's holdings in DaVita were worth $1,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in DaVita during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in DaVita by 58.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 211 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in DaVita in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in DaVita during the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in DaVita during the 2nd quarter worth $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DVA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of DaVita from $150.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of DaVita from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $161.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Javier Rodriguez sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total transaction of $8,252,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 837,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $138,284,666.75. This represents a 5.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

DaVita Stock Performance

DVA traded down $1.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $160.25. 506,762 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 744,634. DaVita Inc. has a one year low of $103.40 and a one year high of $169.51. The stock's fifty day moving average is $158.58 and its 200 day moving average is $150.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.78. The firm has a market cap of $13.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.90.

DaVita (NYSE:DVA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.76 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. DaVita had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 88.18%. The firm's revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that DaVita Inc. will post 9.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.