Ninety One North America Inc. Trims Stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Ninety One North America Inc. lowered its position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 354,003 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 15,015 shares during the quarter. Edwards Lifesciences comprises about 1.6% of Ninety One North America Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $26,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 86.3% in 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 buying an additional 14,610,123 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,265,633 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,733,270,000 after buying an additional 256,538 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,521,147 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $889,050,000 after buying an additional 284,918 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,078,311 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $599,078,000 after buying an additional 806,705 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $555,939,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of EW opened at $71.05 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $72.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.73. 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 stock has a market cap of $41.90 billion, a PE ratio of 10.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.11. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 52-week low of $58.93 and a 52-week high of $96.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on EW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.19.

Insider Activity

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.76, for a total value of $34,380.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 23,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,594,475.64. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.57, for a total transaction of $327,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 46,936 shares in the company, valued at $3,077,593.52. The trade was a 9.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $547,430. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by 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.