Vanguard Group Inc. Has $5.12 Billion Stock Position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW - Free Report) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,132,036 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,537,494 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.72% of Edwards Lifesciences worth $5,117,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 261,680 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $19,372,000 after purchasing an additional 21,219 shares during the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,979,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $16,436,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 348,444 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,795,000 after acquiring an additional 108,821 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 55,900 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,138,000 after acquiring an additional 16,838 shares during the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on EW. Bank of America raised Edwards Lifesciences from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.95.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

Shares of EW stock traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $70.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,513,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,808,659. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.93 and a fifty-two week high of $95.73. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $71.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.49. The company has a quick ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $41.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.12.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The medical research company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 forecast that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Edwards Lifesciences

In other news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.75, for a total value of $492,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,555,402. This represents a 12.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 500 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.76, for a total value of $34,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 23,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,594,475.64. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,553 shares of company stock worth $4,513,064. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.