Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) Stock Holdings Lessened by Fayez Sarofim & Co

Fayez Sarofim & Co cut its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,755 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 210 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $1,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter worth $54,000. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.75, for a total value of $492,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,555,402. The trade was a 12.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven R. Loranger sold 5,739 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.42, for a total value of $438,574.38. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 60,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,613,628.24. The trade was a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,853 shares of company stock worth $5,163,062 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

NYSE EW opened at $69.23 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $71.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.93, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 2.89. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 52-week low of $58.93 and a 52-week high of $95.25.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The medical research company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.04. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 72.93%. Equities research analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

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.