Fayez Sarofim & Co Trims Stock Position in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW)

Key Points

• Fayez Sarofim & Co has reduced its stake in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation by 23.8%, selling 3,278 shares and now holding 10,477 shares valued at approximately $759,000.
• Institutional ownership of Edwards Lifesciences stands at 79.46%, with several hedge funds increasing their holdings during the first quarter.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” for Edwards Lifesciences, with the average price target set at $85.90 following recent price upgrades from multiple firms.

Fayez Sarofim & Co trimmed its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 23.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,477 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 3,278 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co's holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 3,906 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 11,092 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $804,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,136 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,698 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 30,195 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 2,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 50,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,897,554.40. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 4,114 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 22,002 shares in the company, valued at $1,748,278.92. This trade represents a 15.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,134 shares of company stock worth $1,311,745 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.90.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

EW stock traded down $1.67 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $76.49. 1,436,466 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,520,585. The company has a market cap of $44.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.08. Edwards Lifesciences Corporation has a 52-week low of $64.00 and a 52-week high of $83.00. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $77.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 3.87 and a current ratio of 4.68.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 72.96% and a return on equity of 15.01%. The firm's revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Corporation will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.