Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) Stake Raised by United Asset Strategies Inc.

United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 168,159 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 8,242 shares during the period. Edwards Lifesciences comprises about 1.1% of United Asset Strategies Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $12,449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EW. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,532,725 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,080,845,000 after buying an additional 14,610,123 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 475.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,243,976 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $314,182,000 after purchasing an additional 3,506,886 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 239.9% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,693,663 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $243,745,000 after purchasing an additional 2,606,950 shares in the last quarter. Seilern Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter worth about $109,490,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,057,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $301,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043,484 shares in the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of EW opened at $68.98 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.52. 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 52 week low of $58.93 and a 52 week high of $96.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.11.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.67. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 70.82% and a return on equity of 20.76%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.57, for a total value of $327,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,077,593.52. This trade represents a 9.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,717,841.12. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,195,180 in the last 90 days. 1.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on EW shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Edwards Lifesciences has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.48.

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.