Candriam S.C.A. Reduces Stock Position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Candriam S.C.A. lowered its stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,676 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,559 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $9,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 138.7% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc bought a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Steven R. Loranger sold 5,739 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.42, for a total transaction of $438,574.38. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 11,250 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.76, for a total transaction of $852,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,315,301.36. This represents a 26.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 37,739 shares of company stock valued at $2,799,104 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EW opened at $70.36 on Friday. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 52 week low of $58.93 and a 52 week high of $96.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.10, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The medical research company reported $0.59 EPS 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, analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on EW shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $78.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.95.

Edwards Lifesciences 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.