Meridian Wealth Management LLC Grows Stake in DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,921 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in DaVita were worth $620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. purchased a new stake in DaVita in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in DaVita in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in DaVita in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Tacita Capital Inc purchased a new stake in DaVita during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of DaVita by 1,284.4% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 1,156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.12% of the company’s stock.

DaVita Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE:DVA traded up $3.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $139.82. 758,649 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 871,118. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $135.28 and its 200-day moving average is $116.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.04. DaVita Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.51 and a 12-month high of $145.04.

DaVita (NYSE:DVA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.43. DaVita had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 68.52%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that DaVita Inc. will post 9.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at DaVita

In other news, Director Barbara J. Desoer sold 5,030 shares of DaVita stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.81, for a total transaction of $698,214.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,954 shares in the company, valued at $1,520,524.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other DaVita news, insider Kathleen Alyce Waters sold 11,285 shares of DaVita stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.73, for a total transaction of $1,362,438.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 81,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,814,986.81. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Barbara J. Desoer sold 5,030 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.81, for a total value of $698,214.30. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,524.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 113,406 shares of company stock worth $14,119,024. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on DVA shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of DaVita from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. UBS Group raised their price target on DaVita from $113.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. TheStreet raised DaVita from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of DaVita from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of DaVita from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.67.

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.