Alliancebernstein L.P. Trims Stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 70.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,038,677 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 4,944,582 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.35% of Edwards Lifesciences worth $150,923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 930,933 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $68,917,000 after buying an additional 181,409 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 33,210,879 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,458,601,000 after acquiring an additional 1,678,154 shares during the last quarter. Partners in Financial Planning purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter valued at about $858,000. Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter worth about $7,176,000. Finally, Allianz SE purchased a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter worth about $339,000. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EW has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.95.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Down 4.9 %

EW stock traded down $3.59 on Friday, reaching $69.39. 7,511,781 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,846,895. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.64. The company has a market cap of $40.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.15. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a one year low of $58.93 and a one year high of $95.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 2.89.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The medical research company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences

In other news, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 400 shares of Edwards Lifesciences 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,588 shares in the company, valued at $1,569,414.24. The trade was a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian sold 6,164 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.51, for a total transaction of $428,459.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 59,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,106,859.33. This trade represents a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,553 shares of company stock valued at $4,513,064 over the last 90 days. Corporate 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.