Diversified Trust Co Cuts Holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Diversified Trust Co lessened its stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,074 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,575 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $1,708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EW. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,057,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $301,355,000 after buying an additional 1,043,484 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,761 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 102.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,553 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. IMPACTfolio LLC purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 2.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 817,516 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $53,948,000 after purchasing an additional 17,647 shares in the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Edwards Lifesciences Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:EW opened at $74.16 on Thursday. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 1 year low of $58.93 and a 1 year high of $96.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a current ratio of 3.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $71.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.70, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.12.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 70.82% and a return on equity of 20.76%. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Edwards Lifesciences

In related news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.51, for a total value of $347,550.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 46,936 shares in the company, valued at $3,262,521.36. The trade was a 9.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.08, for a total transaction of $185,200.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 23,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,717,841.12. This trade represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,508,350 in the last quarter. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Daiwa America cut Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.40.

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.