Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) Position Trimmed by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 616 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EW. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 86.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,532,725 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,080,845,000 after acquiring an additional 14,610,123 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter valued at $555,939,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 475.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,243,976 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $314,182,000 after acquiring an additional 3,506,886 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter valued at $213,844,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 239.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,693,663 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $243,745,000 after acquiring an additional 2,606,950 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EW opened at $68.52 on Thursday. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a twelve month low of $58.93 and a twelve month high of $96.12. 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 company has a market capitalization of $40.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $71.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.34.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on EW shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven R. Loranger sold 5,739 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.42, for a total value of $438,574.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 60,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,613,628.24. This represents a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 500 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.76, for a total value of $34,380.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 23,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,594,475.64. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 44,303 shares of company stock valued at $3,255,356. Company insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

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.