Montag & Caldwell LLC Cuts Stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Montag & Caldwell LLC decreased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 42.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 217,067 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 160,811 shares during the period. Edwards Lifesciences makes up about 2.9% of Montag & Caldwell LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Montag & Caldwell LLC’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $16,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,633,416 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,577,163,000 after buying an additional 325,808 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,434,401 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,138,575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390,427 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 15,133,146 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,048,424,000 after acquiring an additional 818,849 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,357,473 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $440,446,000 after purchasing an additional 241,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WELLCOME TRUST LTD THE as trustee of the WELLCOME TRUST grew its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. WELLCOME TRUST LTD THE as trustee of the WELLCOME TRUST now owns 4,100,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $312,625,000 after buying an additional 590,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EW traded down $0.66 on Monday, hitting $85.77. The stock had a trading volume of 953,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,808,140. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $90.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.95. The company has a market capitalization of $51.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 3.75. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a twelve month low of $60.57 and a twelve month high of $96.12.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 23.01% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EW shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho lifted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 1,715 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.98, for a total value of $156,030.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,566,038.74. 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 the business’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 173,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,049,739.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 1,715 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.98, for a total transaction of $156,030.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,566,038.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 194,004 shares of company stock valued at $17,166,254. Corporate 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.