W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co Grows Stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co raised its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 45.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 161,221 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,744 shares during the period. Edwards Lifesciences accounts for about 1.3% of W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $11,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Abacus Planning Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 40,207 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,977,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Bowman & Co S.C. lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 12,487 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 42,628 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,156,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,563 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $634,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 31.1% in the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 700 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EW shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $75.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.95.

Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 11,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.76, for a total transaction of $852,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,315,301.36. This trade represents a 26.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 2,500 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.08, for a total value of $185,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 23,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,717,841.12. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,489 shares of company stock worth $2,002,829. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

Edwards Lifesciences stock opened at $73.25 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.51, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.11. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 52 week low of $58.93 and a 52 week 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $72.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.06.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last released 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 return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 72.93%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 earnings per share 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.