New Century Financial Group LLC Takes $255,000 Position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

New Century Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,667 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,601 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 4,504 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 2,299.5% in the 3rd quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 177,128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $12,271,000 after acquiring an additional 169,746 shares in the last quarter. Sectoral Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 37.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sectoral Asset Management Inc. now owns 49,200 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,409,000 after purchasing an additional 13,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 237,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $16,473,000 after purchasing an additional 8,775 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup raised Edwards Lifesciences from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $98.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.18.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

NYSE:EW opened at $91.08 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.64. The stock has a market cap of $54.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.26, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.11. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 1-year low of $60.57 and a 1-year high of $96.12. The company has a current ratio of 3.75, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 23.01%. Research analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Edwards Lifesciences

In related news, VP Jean-Luc M. Lemercier sold 14,400 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $1,329,408.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,049,739.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Jean-Luc M. Lemercier sold 14,400 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $1,329,408.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 173,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,049,739.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 7,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.80, for a total transaction of $622,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 19,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,636,549.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 90,499 shares of company stock worth $7,866,511. Company insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Company 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.