Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Lowers Stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. cut its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW – Get Rating) by 9.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,823 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 680.2% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 50,916 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,840,000 after buying an additional 44,390 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the second quarter worth about $373,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 19.0% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,381,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $511,685,000 after buying an additional 860,313 shares in the last quarter. Old North State Trust LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the third quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the third quarter worth about $761,000. 80.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Edwards Lifesciences Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE EW opened at $78.20 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.52. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 52 week low of $67.13 and a 52 week high of $131.10. The company has a current ratio of 3.03, a quick ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $47.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.05, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 1.01.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The medical research company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 28.27% and a return on equity of 26.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Daveen Chopra sold 4,000 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.80, for a total value of $299,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,911 shares in the company, valued at $1,414,542.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Edwards Lifesciences news, CEO Michael A. Mussallem sold 19,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.09, for a total transaction of $1,552,038.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 157,353 shares in the company, valued at $12,287,695.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Daveen Chopra sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.80, for a total transaction of $299,200.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,414,542.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 101,386 shares of company stock worth $7,858,324. Insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on EW shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $99.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 12th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Edwards Lifesciences from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $97.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.95.

Edwards Lifesciences Profile

(Get Rating)

Edwards Lifesciences Corp. engages in patient-focused medical innovations for heart disease and critical care monitoring. Its products are categorized into four main areas: Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement, Transcatheter Mitral and Tricuspid Therapies, Surgical Structural Heart, and Critical Care.