Invesco Ltd. Boosts Stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 30.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,180,471 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 982,170 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $309,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on EW shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays boosted 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. Evercore ISI dropped 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. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Edwards Lifesciences

In related news, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were 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 owns 23,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,594,475.64. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.96, for a total transaction of $645,620.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,189,770.56. The trade was a 16.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 62,853 shares of company stock valued at $4,534,247. Corporate insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

NYSE:EW opened at $69.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $41.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.15. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 12 month low of $58.93 and a 12 month high of $95.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $71.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.66.

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

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.