Ethic Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Ethic Inc. lowered its position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,393 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 6,231 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $2,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $610,895,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $555,939,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,132,036 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $5,117,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,537,494 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $213,844,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.46% of the company's stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

Edwards Lifesciences stock opened at $73.82 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $71.48 and its 200-day moving average is $71.51. The company has a market cap of $43.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 2.89. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 12 month low of $58.93 and a 12 month high of $95.25.

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

Insider Transactions at Edwards Lifesciences

In other news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 11,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.40, for a total value of $837,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 41,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,057,691.20. This trade represents a 21.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.75, for a total value of $492,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,555,402. This trade represents a 12.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,681 shares of company stock worth $6,492,703 in the last three months. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.

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