Czech National Bank Increases Stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 135,468 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 7,587 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $9,819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 134,341 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $9,945,000 after acquiring an additional 23,409 shares in the last quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter worth $4,499,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter valued at $49,038,000. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 73,042 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,407,000 after buying an additional 7,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplify Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter worth about $5,979,000. 79.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EW traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $77.70. 2,161,186 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,189,652. 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 1 year low of $58.93 and a 1 year high of $95.25. The company's 50-day moving average is $73.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.64. The company has a market capitalization of $45.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.12.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.04. The business 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $78.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Edwards Lifesciences presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $80.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,569,414.24. The trade was a 1.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,189,770.56. The trade was a 16.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,012 shares of company stock valued at $4,224,717 over the last three months. 1.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.