Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Decreases Holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 27.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,500 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 16,500 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $3,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

NYSE EW traded up $1.04 on Friday, reaching $77.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,956,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,078,189. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a current ratio of 3.46. The stock has a market cap of $45.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.18, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.12. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a twelve month low of $58.93 and a twelve month high of $95.25. The firm's 50 day moving average is $71.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.67.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.04. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 72.93% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Edwards Lifesciences

In other news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 11,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.40, for a total transaction of $837,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 41,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,057,691.20. This represents a 21.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian sold 5,980 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total value of $447,961.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,366,054.44. The trade was a 9.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,192 shares of company stock worth $4,709,454. Company insiders own 1.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EW has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $78.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $75.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.60.

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.