Axa S.A. Sells 83,539 Shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

AXA S.A. lessened its stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 691,962 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 83,539 shares during the quarter. AXA S.A. owned about 0.12% of Edwards Lifesciences worth $51,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc acquired a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter worth $54,000. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Edwards Lifesciences

In other news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 11,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.76, for a total transaction of $852,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 30,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,315,301.36. This trade represents a 26.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.96, for a total value of $645,620.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares in the company, valued at $3,189,770.56. The trade was a 16.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 77,833 shares of company stock worth $5,611,023. 1.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE EW traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $74.94. The company had a trading volume of 2,378,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,019,167. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 1-year low of $58.93 and a 1-year high of $95.25. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $71.23 and its 200-day moving average is $71.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.12.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EW. Wolfe Research lowered Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on 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. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.