PGGM Investments Invests $208,000 in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

PGGM Investments purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,172 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EW. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Edwards Lifesciences

In other news, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian purchased 580 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $85.74 per share, with a total value of $49,729.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 3,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $280,198.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian sold 8,617 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.68, for a total value of $755,538.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,981,354.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian bought 580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $85.74 per share, for a total transaction of $49,729.20. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,268 shares in the company, valued at $280,198.32. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,099 shares of company stock worth $2,680,879. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on EW shares. Robert W. Baird downgraded Edwards Lifesciences from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $102.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Baird R W cut shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America lowered shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Fourteen equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.10.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Down 1.7 %

EW stock opened at $60.83 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $85.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 3.71 and a quick ratio of 2.87. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 1-year low of $58.93 and a 1-year high of $96.12. The firm has a market cap of $36.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.11.

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