Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Acquires 16,280 Shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 324,376 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,280 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina owned 0.05% of Edwards Lifesciences worth $24,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scotia Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at $1,118,000. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 261.1% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 424,027 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,315,000 after purchasing an additional 306,596 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 69.7% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 27,429 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,031,000 after purchasing an additional 11,263 shares during the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 69.4% during the 4th quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 15,305 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 6,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 216,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $16,048,000 after purchasing an additional 36,345 shares during the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of EW stock opened at $68.26 on Friday. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 12-month low of $58.93 and a 12-month high of $95.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $71.36 and a 200-day moving average of $70.67. The company has a market capitalization of $40.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.15.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 72.93%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 500 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 23,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,594,475.64. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 9,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.96, for a total value of $645,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,189,770.56. The trade was a 16.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 62,853 shares of company stock worth $4,534,247. 1.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on 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, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Edwards Lifesciences currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.95.

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.