Empower Advisory Group LLC Has $66.33 Million Position in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW)

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 18.0%, holding 915,171 shares valued at approximately $66.3 million as of their latest SEC filing.
• Several analysts upgraded their ratings for Edwards Lifesciences, with notable price targets rising to $95.00 from Citigroup and Barclays, reflecting positive sentiment about the company's growth potential.
• In recent insider transactions, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 4,114 shares, decreasing his ownership by 15.75%, while the company's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations with a reported EPS of $0.67.

Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 18.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 915,171 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 139,608 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Edwards Lifesciences worth $66,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EW. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Probity Advisors Inc. increased its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 21.7% in the first quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 4,843 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 862 shares during the period. ING Groep NV boosted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 182.0% during the 1st quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 212,411 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $15,396,000 after purchasing an additional 137,081 shares during the period. Liberty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,072,000. Finally, Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 4.8% in the first quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,914 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. 79.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 2,570 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.40, for a total value of $198,918.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 50,356 shares in the company, valued at $3,897,554.40. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 4,114 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total transaction of $326,898.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,002 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,748,278.92. This trade represents a 15.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,714 shares of company stock valued at $2,173,304. 1.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Edwards Lifesciences Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE EW traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $77.83. The stock had a trading volume of 3,238,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,237,431. The firm has a market cap of $45.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.08. Edwards Lifesciences Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $61.33 and a fifty-two week high of $83.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.45 and a quick ratio of 3.66. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $77.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.05.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.05. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 72.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences Corporation will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Friday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised Edwards Lifesciences to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.90.

Edwards Lifesciences Company 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.