Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Lowers Stock Holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH decreased its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 54.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,242 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 18,581 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $1,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth about $610,895,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth about $555,939,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 10.4% during the 4th 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 period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth about $213,844,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,813,419 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $430,367,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079,642 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.46% of the company's stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

Shares of EW traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $78.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,048,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,194,666. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.12. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 1-year low of $58.93 and a 1-year high of $95.25.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 firm earned $0.66 EPS. Analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research downgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $80.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 400 shares of Edwards Lifesciences 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 directly owns 22,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,569,414.24. The trade was a 1.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian sold 6,164 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.51, for a total value of $428,459.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,106,859.33. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,442 shares of company stock valued at $4,025,799. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Edwards Lifesciences

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.