Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,971 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,849 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $7,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 40,207 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,977,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Bowman & Co S.C. raised its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 12,487 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 42,628 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,156,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,563 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Financial Group boosted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 6,466 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

NYSE EW opened at $68.49 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.35. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 12-month low of $58.93 and a 12-month high of $96.12. The firm has a market cap of $40.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The medical research company reported $0.59 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Edwards Lifesciences

In related news, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian sold 6,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.51, for a total value of $428,459.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,106,859.33. This trade represents a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 500 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,594,475.64. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,303 shares of company stock worth $3,255,356. Insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $75.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $78.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.95.

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.