Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $3.07 Million Stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,396 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 570 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $3,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EW. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 138.7% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 31.1% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 700 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EW opened at $73.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 2.89. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $72.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.94. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.93 and a fifty-two week high of $96.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.10.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The medical research company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.04. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 72.93% and a return on equity of 19.40%. As a group, analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 11,250 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.76, for a total value of $852,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 30,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,315,301.36. The trade was a 26.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.76, for a total value of $34,380.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 23,189 shares in the company, valued at $1,594,475.64. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,489 shares of company stock valued at $2,002,829. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.95.

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.