Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 15,606 Shares of DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA - Free Report) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,949 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,606 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.06% of DaVita worth $7,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DVA. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of DaVita during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,645,000. Iron Triangle Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of DaVita in the 4th quarter valued at $38,946,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of DaVita by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 174,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,153,000 after purchasing an additional 38,855 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of DaVita by 53.6% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 131,345 shares of the company's stock worth $19,643,000 after buying an additional 45,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its position in DaVita by 57.3% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 31,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,680,000 after acquiring an additional 11,395 shares during the last quarter. 90.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DVA. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of DaVita in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of DaVita from $170.00 to $164.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $184.00 price target on shares of DaVita in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised DaVita from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on DaVita from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, DaVita has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $164.50.

DaVita Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of DVA traded up $1.85 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $146.81. 230,506 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 828,480. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.60. DaVita Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.44 and a 52 week high of $179.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.67, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.18, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.26.

DaVita (NYSE:DVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. DaVita had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 115.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. On average, analysts predict that DaVita Inc. will post 10.76 earnings per share 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.