Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 41.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,740 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 6,258 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.'s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $633,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $610,895,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 10.4% in 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 buying an additional 6,537,494 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter worth $213,844,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,813,419 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $430,367,000 after acquiring an additional 2,079,642 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 33,210,879 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,458,601,000 after acquiring an additional 1,678,154 shares during the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

Shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $78.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,205,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,260,552. The company has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a PE ratio of 11.15, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 3.66 and a current ratio of 4.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $75.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.12. Edwards Lifesciences Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.93 and a 12-month 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.04. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 16.62% and a net margin of 75.48%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences Corporation will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on EW. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Edwards Lifesciences to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 price target (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $80.20.

Insider Transactions at Edwards Lifesciences

In related news, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian sold 5,980 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total transaction of $447,961.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,366,054.44. This represents a 9.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 2,570 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 50,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,897,554.40. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,648 shares of company stock valued at $2,998,866. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.