AQR Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 309,119 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 33,755 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Edwards Lifesciences worth $28,553,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. First Community Trust NA purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 125.0% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

Shares of EW opened at $66.58 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.87 and a current ratio of 3.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $67.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.89. The stock has a market cap of $40.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.13. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a one year low of $58.93 and a one year high of $96.12.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 22.35% and a net margin of 24.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Edwards Lifesciences’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $91.00 to $76.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com cut Edwards Lifesciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Edwards Lifesciences from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.82.

Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences

In other news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.29, for a total value of $466,450.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares in the company, valued at $4,378,659.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Daveen Chopra sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $87,437.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 29,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,051,843.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.29, for a total value of $466,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,378,659.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,250 shares of company stock worth $1,218,138 over the last three months. Company 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.