Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Cuts Position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,974 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $1,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,140 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 8.8% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 41,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 3,340 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 13.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 896,162 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $59,137,000 after purchasing an additional 104,499 shares in the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund boosted its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 422.3% during the third quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund now owns 450,233 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,711,000 after purchasing an additional 364,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 3.9% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 38,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441 shares during the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

EW stock opened at $66.15 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $67.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.44. The company has a market cap of $39.02 billion, a PE ratio of 9.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 12-month low of $58.93 and a 12-month high of $96.12.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.67. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 70.82% and a return on equity of 20.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Edwards Lifesciences’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on EW. Bank of America downgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $105.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $107.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Daiwa America downgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, VP Daveen Chopra sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $87,437.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 29,333 shares in the company, valued at $2,051,843.35. This represents a 4.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.51, for a total transaction of $347,550.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares in the company, valued at $3,262,521.36. This represents a 9.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 41,250 shares of company stock valued at $2,744,438. Company insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

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.