MML Investors Services LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

MML Investors Services LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 65.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,115 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 64,525 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $2,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 69.3% in the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 53,296 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,517,000 after purchasing an additional 21,814 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 27.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 303,853 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $20,051,000 after acquiring an additional 65,982 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 65.2% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 23,039 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 9,093 shares during the period. Wedgewood Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wedgewood Partners Inc. now owns 359,257 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $23,898,000 after purchasing an additional 4,830 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,532,725 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,080,845,000 after purchasing an additional 14,610,123 shares in the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

NYSE:EW traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $74.15. The stock had a trading volume of 7,057,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,658,550. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 12-month low of $58.93 and a 12-month high of $96.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a current ratio of 3.46. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.71. The stock has a market cap of $43.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.12.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 70.82% and a return on equity of 20.76%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Edwards Lifesciences

In other news, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.08, for a total transaction of $185,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 23,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,717,841.12. This represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Larry L. Wood sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.91, for a total transaction of $1,647,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 198,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,084,848.66. The trade was a 11.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 37,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,508,350. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EW. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Daiwa America lowered shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.40.

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.