Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) Shares Sold by Wellington Shields & Co. LLC

Wellington Shields & Co. LLC reduced its stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $74,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EW. Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 102.5% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 4,455 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,255 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the third quarter valued at about $481,000. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the third quarter valued at about $245,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 3.9% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 38,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 1,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 8.9% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,140 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480 shares in the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EW opened at $69.37 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $71.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.33. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 52 week low of $58.93 and a 52 week high of $96.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The medical research company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.04. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 72.93% and a return on equity of 19.40%. Analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EW. Wolfe Research downgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America upgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $82.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Edwards Lifesciences

In related news, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.08, for a total transaction of $185,200.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 23,189 shares in the company, valued at $1,717,841.12. This trade represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian sold 6,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.51, for a total transaction of $428,459.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 59,083 shares in the company, valued at $4,106,859.33. This represents a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 53,803 shares of company stock worth $3,900,976. 1.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.