Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,151,709 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 44,350 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.20% of Edwards Lifesciences worth $85,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EW. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc bought a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.46% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Edwards Lifesciences

In other news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.96, for a total transaction of $645,620.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares in the company, valued at $3,189,770.56. This represents a 16.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 11,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.87, for a total transaction of $797,287.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,153,526.69. This trade represents a 27.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 62,553 shares of company stock valued at $4,513,064. Insiders own 1.29% of the company's stock.

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Edwards Lifesciences Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of EW traded up $0.95 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $69.95. 914,794 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,546,903. 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. The company's fifty day moving average price is $71.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.67. The company has a market capitalization of $41.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.15.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The medical research company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.04. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 72.93% and a return on equity of 19.40%. Equities research analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research downgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.95.

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.