Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,901,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 48,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.31% of Edwards Lifesciences worth $144,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EW. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $168,519,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 1,224.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,610,412 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $123,261,000 after buying an additional 1,488,791 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,434,401 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,138,575,000 after buying an additional 1,390,427 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 61.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,111,385 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $215,557,000 after buying an additional 1,179,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,971,000. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

Edwards Lifesciences stock opened at $85.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.37 billion, a PE ratio of 36.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.10. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a one year low of $60.57 and a one year high of $96.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $90.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 3.75.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 23.01% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on EW. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho upped their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America upgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Edwards Lifesciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.71.

Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences

In related news, Director Heisz Leslie Stone sold 7,056 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.45, for a total value of $609,991.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,980 shares in the company, valued at $2,332,421. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Heisz Leslie Stone sold 7,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.45, for a total value of $609,991.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,421. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 7,255 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.89, for a total value of $688,426.95. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 19,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,809,931.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 237,749 shares of company stock valued at $20,920,934. Insiders own 1.29% 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.