Senator Investment Group LP Buys Shares of 490,000 Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Senator Investment Group LP bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 490,000 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $36,275,000. Senator Investment Group LP owned about 0.08% of Edwards Lifesciences as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth about $610,895,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter worth about $555,939,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,132,036 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $5,117,845,000 after buying an additional 6,537,494 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 475.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,243,976 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $314,182,000 after buying an additional 3,506,886 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $213,844,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EW shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Edwards Lifesciences has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.45.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of EW traded up $0.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $76.06. 6,328,691 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,987,541. The firm has a market cap of $44.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.02. The company has a quick ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 3.46 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 $95.25.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 72.93% and a return on equity of 19.40%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences

In related news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.75, for a total value of $492,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 46,936 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,555,402. This represents a 12.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Steven R. Loranger sold 5,739 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.42, for a total transaction of $438,574.38. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 60,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,613,628.24. This represents a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,853 shares of company stock valued at $5,163,062. Insiders own 0.34% 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.