Great West Life Assurance Co. Can Lowers Holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lowered its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 20.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 509,163 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 129,566 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $48,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EW. Baystate Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the second quarter valued at $234,000. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the 2nd quarter worth about $205,000. Nvwm LLC purchased a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the second quarter worth approximately $599,000. Finally, Columbia Trust Co 01012016 grew its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 5.4% in the second quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 16,613 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Monday, October 16th. SVB Leerink started coverage on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research report on Monday, October 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. TheStreet lowered shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Edwards Lifesciences presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.29.

Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences

In related news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.30, for a total value of $391,800.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 39,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,579,545.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Edwards Lifesciences news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 7,255 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.79, for a total transaction of $564,366.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 19,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,497,301.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.30, for a total transaction of $391,800.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 39,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,579,545.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 179,795 shares of company stock worth $12,724,914. Insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Up 0.4 %

EW stock opened at $67.19 on Tuesday. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a one year low of $60.57 and a one year high of $94.87. The firm has a market cap of $40.75 billion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a current ratio of 3.28.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The medical research company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 24.59% and a return on equity of 24.54%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. Edwards Lifesciences’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.51 EPS for the current year.

Edwards Lifesciences Company Profile

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation provides products and technologies for structural heart disease, and critical care and surgical monitoring in the United States, Europe, Japan, and internationally. It offers transcatheter heart valve replacement products for the minimally invasive replacement of heart valves; and transcatheter heart valve repair and replacement products to treat mitral and tricuspid valve diseases.