Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $8.68 Million Stock Position in DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,060 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,108 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.07% of DaVita worth $8,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DVA. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in DaVita by 93.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 31,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,134,000 after buying an additional 15,138 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in DaVita by 1.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of DaVita by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of DaVita by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,274,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in shares of DaVita by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 3,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 90.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on DVA shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of DaVita from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of DaVita in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $184.00 price objective on DaVita in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.33.

DaVita Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DVA opened at $147.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.18, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $160.66 and its 200-day moving average is $158.16. The company has a market cap of $11.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.94. DaVita Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.70 and a 52-week high of $179.60.

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

DaVita Company 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.