Swiss National Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW)

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank has reduced its stake in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation by 2.3%, now holding approximately 1.66 million shares worth around $120.57 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Jennison Associates LLC and Brown Advisory Inc., have increased their holdings in Edwards Lifesciences, with Jennison Associates now owning over 10 million shares.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.90, reflecting ongoing investor interest despite recent insider sales.

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,663,500 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 38,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.28% of Edwards Lifesciences worth $120,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 34.3% during 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 last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 8,155,355 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $603,741,000 after buying an additional 575,699 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,903,202 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $511,044,000 after buying an additional 652,923 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 8.5% during 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 worth $482,621,000 after buying an additional 513,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,505,227 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $481,582,000 after buying an additional 1,165,845 shares during the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 2,570 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.40, for a total transaction of $198,918.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 50,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,897,554.40. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 4,114 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total transaction of $326,898.44. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,002 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,748,278.92. This trade represents a 15.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,134 shares of company stock valued at $1,311,745 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EW. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective 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 lifted their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.90.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

Edwards Lifesciences stock opened at $78.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $46.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.14. Edwards Lifesciences Corporation has a 12-month low of $62.88 and a 12-month high of $83.00. The company has a current ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 72.96% and a return on equity of 15.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences Corporation will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Edwards Lifesciences Company 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.

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