Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Stock Position in DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its stake in DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 48,910 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,447 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in DaVita were worth $7,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in DaVita in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in DaVita by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of DaVita by 58.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in DaVita by 39.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 461 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of DaVita by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 517 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DVA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of DaVita in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $184.00 target price on DaVita in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of DaVita from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded DaVita from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.33.

DaVita Price Performance

DVA opened at $155.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $152.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.63. DaVita Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.64 and a 1 year high of $179.60.

DaVita (NYSE:DVA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $2.24 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%. Research analysts anticipate that DaVita Inc. will post 10.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

DaVita 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.