Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 12,574 Shares of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation $EW

Key Points

• Securian Asset Management cut its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 44.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 12,574 shares and leaving it with 15,779 shares worth about $1.345 million.
• Edwards Lifesciences reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.78 beating estimates and revenue of $1.65 billion topping forecasts; revenue rose 16.7% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $95.65, while insiders have also been selling shares in recent months.

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 44.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,779 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 12,574 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $1,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 3.7% in the third quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,301 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 0.4% in the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 32,196 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,504,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,304 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 3.3% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,136 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Florida Trust Wealth Management Co lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co now owns 8,810 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.46% of the company's stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

NYSE EW opened at $79.69 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $81.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.80. The company has a current ratio of 4.42, a quick ratio of 3.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Edwards Lifesciences Corporation has a 12-month low of $72.30 and a 12-month high of $87.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.87.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.05. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 17.39% and a return on equity of 15.19%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Edwards Lifesciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.700-0.760 EPS. Analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences Corporation will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 13,000 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.04, for a total value of $1,040,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,699 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,177,507.96. The trade was a 24.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 1,019 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.98, for a total transaction of $85,575.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 33,682 shares in the company, valued at $2,828,614.36. This represents a 2.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 88,096 shares of company stock valued at $7,288,799. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EW. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $98.00) on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $110.00 price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $110.00 price target (up from $104.00) on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.65.

Edwards Lifesciences Profile

Edwards Lifesciences is a medical technology company focused on products and therapies for structural heart disease and critical care monitoring. The company designs, develops and manufactures prosthetic heart valves and related delivery systems used in both surgical and minimally invasive (transcatheter) procedures. Its portfolio addresses a range of valvular conditions, with an emphasis on technologies that enable transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) as an alternative to open-heart surgery.

In addition to transcatheter heart valves—including the widely recognized SAPIEN family—Edwards offers surgical tissue valves and ancillary devices used by cardiac surgeons, interventional cardiologists and hospital teams.

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