Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 56,336 Shares of DaVita Inc. $DVA

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its DaVita stake by 5.2% in the first quarter, buying 56,336 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 1,145,436 shares worth about $176 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leaning cautious: DaVita has a consensus "Hold" rating, with two Buy ratings, five Hold ratings, and one Sell rating, while the average price target sits at $216.50.
• DaVita’s latest results topped expectations, reporting $2.87 EPS versus $2.33 expected and revenue of $3.42 billion, though insider selling was notable with both an executive and the CFO reducing their stakes.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA - Free Report) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,145,436 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 56,336 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.71% of DaVita worth $176,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in DaVita by 128.0% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 187 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in DaVita during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Sankala Group LLC bought a new position in DaVita during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of DaVita in the second quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of DaVita in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. 90.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DVA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of DaVita in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of DaVita from $205.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of DaVita from $235.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of DaVita from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $126.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Zacks Research cut DaVita from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $216.50.

DaVita Stock Performance

DVA opened at $235.46 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $213.62 and a 200-day moving average of $168.71. The company has a market capitalization of $15.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.88. DaVita Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.00 and a fifty-two week high of $239.64.

DaVita (NYSE:DVA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.54. DaVita had a net margin of 5.65% and a negative return on equity of 270.37%. The business had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. DaVita's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. DaVita has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.100-15.200 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that DaVita Inc. will post 15.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Kathleen Alyce Waters sold 15,405 shares of DaVita stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.40, for a total value of $3,210,402.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 109,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,756,029.60. The trade was a 12.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Joel Ackerman sold 51,471 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.10, for a total value of $9,887,579.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 132,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,440,571.40. This trade represents a 27.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

DaVita Profile

DaVita Inc NYSE: DVA is a leading provider of kidney care services, specializing in the management and operation of outpatient dialysis centers for patients with chronic kidney failure and end-stage renal disease. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, the company offers a comprehensive suite of treatment modalities, including in-center hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and home dialysis therapies. In addition to its core dialysis services, DaVita provides patient education, nutritional counseling, vascular access management and related laboratory services to support kidney health and overall patient well-being.

Since its formation in the mid-1990s through a clinical management services spin-off, DaVita has expanded both organically and through strategic partnerships and acquisitions.

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