Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Lowers Stock Position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board trimmed its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 10.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 294,336 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 32,776 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $27,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EW. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. First Community Trust NA acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the second quarter worth $29,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

Shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock opened at $66.83 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.81, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 3.71, a quick ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $69.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.80. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a twelve month low of $58.93 and a twelve month high of $96.12.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 22.35% and a net margin of 24.55%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Edwards Lifesciences from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $85.00 to $70.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $91.00 to $76.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $101.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.82.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.08, for a total transaction of $330,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,101,530.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Daveen Chopra sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $87,437.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 29,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,051,843.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.08, for a total transaction of $330,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,101,530.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,218,138. Company insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

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.