Sterling Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Sterling Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,250 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 377 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Heritage Trust Co acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,647 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $208,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 192,518 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,252,000 after buying an additional 39,472 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 324,376 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $24,014,000 after acquiring an additional 16,280 shares in the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $78.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.55.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

EW opened at $71.56 on Friday. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a twelve month low of $58.93 and a twelve month high of $95.25. The stock has a market cap of $42.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $71.31 and its 200-day moving average is $70.85. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Steven R. Loranger sold 5,739 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 60,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,613,628.24. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.48, for a total transaction of $27,792.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,569,414.24. This represents a 1.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,853 shares of company stock worth $5,163,062. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.