First Trust Advisors LP Grows Stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 66.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 270,611 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 108,057 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $20,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EW. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,780 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 2,709 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 65.5% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,897 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 751 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 80.1% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 762,740 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $56,466,000 after buying an additional 339,299 shares during the last quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $910,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,813,419 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $430,367,000 after acquiring an additional 2,079,642 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.46% of the company's stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of EW opened at $76.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.71 billion, a PE ratio of 10.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.15. The company's fifty day moving average is $70.94 and its 200 day moving average is $71.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a current ratio of 3.46. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.93 and a fifty-two week high of $95.25.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $0.64 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 72.93% and a return on equity of 19.40%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Edwards Lifesciences

In related news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.96, for a total value of $645,620.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 46,936 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,189,770.56. This represents a 16.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 11,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.87, for a total transaction of $797,287.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,153,526.69. The trade was a 27.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,853 shares of company stock worth $5,163,062. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on EW. Stifel Nicolaus raised Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set 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, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.45.

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.

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