M&G Plc Increases Position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

M&G Plc grew its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 4.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. M&G Plc’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the first quarter worth $28,000. First Community Trust NA purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.29, for a total transaction of $466,450.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 46,936 shares in the company, valued at $4,378,659.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.29, for a total transaction of $466,450.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,378,659.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 5,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.45, for a total value of $508,781.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,764,242.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 24,242 shares of company stock valued at $2,168,470. Insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

Shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock opened at $66.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 2.87, a current ratio of 3.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 52 week low of $58.93 and a 52 week high of $96.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $81.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.06.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.01. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 24.55% and a return on equity of 22.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. Edwards Lifesciences’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $101.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Wolfe Research raised Edwards Lifesciences from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Daiwa America raised Edwards Lifesciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $91.00 to $76.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.10.

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.