Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Acquires 17,726 Shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 149,596 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 17,726 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $11,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $610,895,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $555,939,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,132,036 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,117,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,537,494 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 475.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,243,976 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $314,182,000 after purchasing an additional 3,506,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter worth $213,844,000. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EW traded down $0.85 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $75.43. 1,103,617 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,979,195. The company has a quick ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company's 50 day moving average price is $70.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.20. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 12 month low of $58.93 and a 12 month high of $95.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.34 billion, a PE ratio of 10.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.15.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.04. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 72.93% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven R. Loranger sold 5,739 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.42, for a total value of $438,574.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 60,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,613,628.24. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.48, for a total transaction of $27,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,569,414.24. This trade represents a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,853 shares of company stock valued at $5,163,062 over the last 90 days. 1.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EW has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wolfe Research downgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $78.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.45.

Edwards Lifesciences Profile

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation provides products and technologies for structural heart disease and critical care monitoring in the United States, Europe, Japan, and internationally. It offers transcatheter heart valve replacement products for the minimally invasive replacement of aortic heart valves under the Edwards SAPIEN family of valves system; and transcatheter heart valve repair and replacement products to treat mitral and tricuspid valve diseases under the PASCAL PRECISION and Cardioband names.