HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 139,624 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 255 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $10,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EW. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 138.7% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. 79.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EW. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America raised shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $82.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $78.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Edwards Lifesciences currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.95.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

Shares of EW opened at $69.37 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $40.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.34. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 12-month low of $58.93 and a 12-month high of $96.12.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The medical research company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences

In other news, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.48, for a total value of $27,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 22,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,569,414.24. This represents a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.96, for a total transaction of $645,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,189,770.56. The trade was a 16.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 51,303 shares of company stock worth $3,715,776. 1.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Edwards Lifesciences 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.