Raiffeisen Bank International AG Trims Stock Holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW)

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG reduced its stake in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation by 6.4%, now owning approximately 300,644 shares valued at $21.3 million.
• Edwards Lifesciences reported $1.53 billion in revenue for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with a net margin of 72.96% and earnings per share of $0.67.
• Several research firms have increased their price targets for Edwards Lifesciences, with Barclays raising it to $95.00 and Deutsche Bank to $94.00, reflecting positive analyst sentiment.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG cut its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 300,644 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 20,691 shares during the quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG owned approximately 0.05% of Edwards Lifesciences worth $21,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 10,086,033 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $731,036,000 after buying an additional 2,576,383 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 8,155,355 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $603,741,000 after purchasing an additional 575,699 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,903,202 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $511,044,000 after purchasing an additional 652,923 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,519,257 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $482,621,000 after purchasing an additional 513,468 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,505,227 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $481,582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,845 shares during the period. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Edwards Lifesciences Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE EW traded down $0.92 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $79.17. 783,053 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,553,869. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $77.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.92. The company has a quick ratio of 3.66, a current ratio of 4.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Edwards Lifesciences Corporation has a 52 week low of $60.34 and a 52 week high of $83.00. The stock has a market cap of $46.44 billion, a PE ratio of 11.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.08.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 72.96%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences Corporation will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on EW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Dbs Bank raised Edwards Lifesciences to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.71.

Insider Transactions at Edwards Lifesciences

In related news, insider Larry L. Wood sold 8,950 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.23, for a total value of $673,308.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 206,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,565,087. The trade was a 4.15% 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 Daveen Chopra sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were 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 owned 33,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,514,879.68. The trade was a 4.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,982 shares of company stock valued at $2,193,425 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.