Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Decreases Position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership decreased its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 48.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,988 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 43,796 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $3,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 40,207 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,977,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. boosted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 12,487 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 54,589 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,041,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 42,628 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,156,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,563 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $634,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE EW opened at $67.04 on Wednesday. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 12 month low of $58.93 and a 12 month high of $95.25. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $39.41 billion, a PE ratio of 9.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $71.54 and its 200 day moving average is $70.65.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Edwards Lifesciences

In other news, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.76, for a total transaction of $34,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 23,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,594,475.64. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 11,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.76, for a total transaction of $852,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 30,561 shares in the company, valued at $2,315,301.36. This represents a 26.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,853 shares of company stock valued at $4,534,247 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays increased their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wolfe Research lowered Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.95.

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.