Bell Asset Management Ltd Cuts Stock Position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Bell Asset Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 44.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,132 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 43,195 shares during the period. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $4,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 3rd quarter valued at about $295,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 2.7% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 246,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $16,245,000 after purchasing an additional 6,539 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 29.2% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 53,183 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,510,000 after purchasing an additional 12,028 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 11.9% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 232,738 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $15,358,000 after purchasing an additional 24,731 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 65.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 23,039 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 9,093 shares in the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences

In other news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.96, for a total value of $645,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 46,936 shares in the company, valued at $3,189,770.56. This trade represents a 16.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 11,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.87, for a total value of $797,287.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,153,526.69. The trade was a 27.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 62,553 shares of company stock worth $4,513,064 in the last three months. 1.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on EW shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays increased their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wolfe Research cut Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.95.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

EW stock opened at $69.39 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $71.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a current ratio of 3.46. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 1 year low of $58.93 and a 1 year high of $95.25.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The medical research company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

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.