First National Trust Co Decreases Stock Position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

First National Trust Co cut its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,532 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 218 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EW. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 11,135 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,057,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $301,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,484 shares during the last quarter. WELLCOME TRUST LTD THE as trustee of the WELLCOME TRUST increased its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. WELLCOME TRUST LTD THE as trustee of the WELLCOME TRUST now owns 4,800,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $355,344,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares during the last quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter worth $3,702,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter worth $4,845,000. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE EW opened at $69.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 2.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $71.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.33. 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 results on Tuesday, February 11th. The medical research company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EW shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock 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 stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $78.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.95.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.48, for a total value of $27,792.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,569,414.24. This represents a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 53,803 shares of company stock valued at $3,900,976. Insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Edwards Lifesciences 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.