Merit Financial Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Merit Financial Group LLC reduced its position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 33.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,032 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,049 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EW. Malaga Cove Capital LLC grew its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 6,907 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,529 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $803,000 after buying an additional 2,093 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 7,682 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 1,739 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 227,837 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $17,372,000 after buying an additional 49,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at $268,000. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

NYSE EW opened at $85.09 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $90.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.69. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 52 week low of $60.57 and a 52 week high of $96.12. The stock has a market cap of $51.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.10. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 23.01%. Analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Robert W.A. Sellers sold 12,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.00, for a total value of $1,062,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,138,569. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Robert W.A. Sellers sold 12,210 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.00, for a total transaction of $1,062,270.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,569. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian acquired 580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $85.74 per share, for a total transaction of $49,729.20. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $280,198.32. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 230,693 shares of company stock valued at $20,310,942. Company insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EW. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup increased their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Edwards Lifesciences presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.27.

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.