Focus Financial Network Inc. Makes New $206,000 Investment in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Focus Financial Network Inc. acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,789 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 73,042 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,407,000 after purchasing an additional 7,154 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,692 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 90.3% in the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 738,779 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $54,692,000 after buying an additional 350,650 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 25,533 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,890,000 after buying an additional 1,501 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 134,341 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,945,000 after acquiring an additional 23,409 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

Shares of EW stock opened at $76.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 2.89. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 1-year low of $58.93 and a 1-year high of $96.12.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The medical research company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.04. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 20.76% and a net margin of 70.82%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Steven R. Loranger sold 5,739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.42, for a total value of $438,574.38. Following the sale, the director now owns 60,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,613,628.24. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.76, for a total value of $34,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 23,189 shares in the company, valued at $1,594,475.64. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,489 shares of company stock valued at $2,002,829 over the last 90 days. 1.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences presently has a consensus 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.