Kennedy Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 25.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 192,518 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,472 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $14,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 23,189 shares in the company, valued at $1,594,475.64. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian sold 6,164 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.51, for a total value of $428,459.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,106,859.33. The trade was a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,853 shares of company stock valued at $4,534,247 over the last quarter. 1.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Up 4.2 %

Shares of NYSE EW opened at $69.86 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $41.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.15. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 12 month low of $58.93 and a 12 month high of $95.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $71.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.66.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last released 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 19.40% and a net margin of 72.93%. As a group, analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.95.

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.