Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Stock Position in DaVita Inc. $DVA

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its DaVita stake by 48.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 104,742 shares and ending with 113,076 shares worth about $12.85 million.
• Several analysts turned more bullish on DaVita, including Deutsche Bank and UBS, with the stock now carrying a consensus Hold rating and a $199.17 price target.
• DaVita reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.87 beating estimates and revenue rising 6% year over year to $3.42 billion, while CFO Joel Ackerman also sold 51,471 shares in May.

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its position in shares of DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA - Free Report) by 48.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 113,076 shares of the company's stock after selling 104,742 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.16% of DaVita worth $12,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of DVA. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of DaVita by 102.5% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,065 shares of the company's stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its position in DaVita by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 186,274 shares of the company's stock worth $21,163,000 after purchasing an additional 21,887 shares in the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in DaVita during the fourth quarter worth approximately $172,000. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in DaVita by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 4,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of DaVita in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,936,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded DaVita from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $126.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of DaVita from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of DaVita from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of DaVita from $158.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of DaVita from $144.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, DaVita currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $199.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Joel Ackerman sold 51,471 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.10, for a total transaction of $9,887,579.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 132,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,440,571.40. The trade was a 27.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

DaVita Stock Performance

NYSE DVA opened at $187.50 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $168.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.38. DaVita Inc. has a one year low of $101.00 and a one year high of $202.69. The company has a market cap of $12.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.91.

DaVita (NYSE:DVA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. DaVita has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.100-15.200 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that DaVita Inc. will post 15.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

DaVita Company 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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