Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Lowers Stock Position in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its stake in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation by 5.0% in the first quarter, owning 1,056,487 shares valued at approximately $76.57 million after selling 55,349 shares.
• Research firms have increased their price targets for Edwards Lifesciences, with Barclays setting a target of $95.00 and upgrading the stock to "overweight".
• Insider trading activity included CEO Bernard J. Zovighian selling 5,980 shares, resulting in a 9.31% decrease in his ownership stake.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp trimmed its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,056,487 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 55,349 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.18% of Edwards Lifesciences worth $76,574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EW. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 34.9% in the first quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,564 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,447,000 after acquiring an additional 12,293 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 15.0% in the first quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. First National Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 4.9% in the first quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 3,704 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd raised its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 32.2% in the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 27,622 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,002,000 after acquiring an additional 6,722 shares in the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

Shares of EW traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $79.42. 500,758 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,551,748. The business's 50-day moving average price is $77.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.45 and a quick ratio of 3.66. Edwards Lifesciences Corporation has a twelve month low of $60.34 and a twelve month high of $83.00. The company has a market capitalization of $46.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.08.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 72.96%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences Corporation will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 2,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.40, for a total transaction of $198,918.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 50,356 shares of the company's stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Larry L. Wood sold 8,950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.23, for a total value of $673,308.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 206,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,565,087. This represents a 4.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,982 shares of company stock valued at $2,193,425. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EW shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.71.

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.