Centaurus Financial Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Centaurus Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,759 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 271 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Pingora Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Operose Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 247.0% during the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 635 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 292.6% during the third quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 636 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Edwards Lifesciences Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:EW opened at $88.52 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $87.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.25. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 52 week low of $60.57 and a 52 week high of $96.12. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 3.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $53.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.16, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.11.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 7,255 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 19,074 shares in the company, valued at $1,809,931.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Edwards Lifesciences news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 7,255 shares of the 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 directly owns 19,074 shares in the company, valued at $1,809,931.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael A. Mussallem sold 29,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.42, for a total transaction of $2,712,527.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,486 shares in the company, valued at $414,596.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 127,104 shares of company stock worth $11,267,464. 1.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EW. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. OTR Global raised shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “mixed” rating to a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup raised shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $98.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.06.

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.