Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) Shares Sold by Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. trimmed its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 81.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,465 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 174,262 shares during the quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $3,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter valued at $610,895,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $555,939,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 6,537,494 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 475.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,243,976 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $314,182,000 after purchasing an additional 3,506,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $213,844,000. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven R. Loranger sold 5,739 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.42, for a total transaction of $438,574.38. Following the transaction, the director now owns 60,372 shares in the company, valued at $4,613,628.24. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian sold 6,164 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.51, for a total value of $428,459.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,106,859.33. The trade was a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,853 shares of company stock worth $5,163,062 in the last three months. 1.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of EW stock traded down $2.30 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $69.23. 3,767,362 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,926,556. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $71.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.95. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a one year low of $58.93 and a one year high of $95.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.93, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.15. 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 (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, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on EW shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a 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 raised their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.55.

Edwards Lifesciences Profile

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.