Prudential PLC Has $13 Million Position in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC reduced its stake in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation by 15.9% in the first quarter, holding 179,398 shares valued at approximately $13 million.
• Several institutional investors have adjusted their positions in Edwards Lifesciences, with notable increases from Resona Asset Management and Public Sector Pension Investment Board, amidst significant institutional ownership of 79.46% of the stock.
• Wall Street analysts have given Edwards Lifesciences an average rating of "Moderate Buy," with expectations of growth reflected in price upgrades and an average target price of $85.90.

Prudential PLC lessened its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 15.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 179,398 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 33,971 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $13,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 116.1% during the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 402 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 102.5% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 405 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.46% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Daveen Chopra sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.08, for a total value of $112,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 4,114 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total value of $326,898.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,002 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,748,278.92. The trade was a 15.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,134 shares of company stock valued at $1,311,745. Corporate insiders own 1.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus raised Edwards Lifesciences to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.90.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Up 0.1%

EW stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $78.26. The company had a trading volume of 2,620,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,877,332. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.68 and a quick ratio of 3.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.39. The company has a market capitalization of $45.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26, a PEG ratio of 3.77 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.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 15.01% and a net margin of 72.96%. The business's revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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.