Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) Shares Sold by Atle Fund Management AB

Atle Fund Management AB decreased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 12.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,696 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 8,600 shares during the period. Edwards Lifesciences makes up about 1.9% of Atle Fund Management AB's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Atle Fund Management AB's holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $4,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EW. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 116.1% in the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 402 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences

In related news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 2,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.40, for a total value of $198,918.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 50,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,897,554.40. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Daveen Chopra sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.08, for a total transaction of $112,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 33,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,514,879.68. This trade represents a 4.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,848 shares of company stock valued at $2,314,488 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Argus raised Edwards Lifesciences to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised Edwards Lifesciences to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.00.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE EW traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $76.44. 4,816,601 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,284,402. Edwards Lifesciences Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.93 and a 52 week high of $88.50. The company has a market cap of $44.84 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.11. 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 $76.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.44.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 16.62% and a net margin of 75.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences Corporation will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

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.