GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Has $1.61 Million Stock Position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC reduced its position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,414 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 556 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $1,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,964,394 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,061,277,000 after purchasing an additional 600,994 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 9.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 18,973,304 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,813,089,000 after buying an additional 1,644,869 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 18,181,420 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,386,333,000 after buying an additional 3,048,274 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,827,510 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,283,098,000 after acquiring an additional 393,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $648,540,000. 79.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

EW stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $66.50. The stock had a trading volume of 5,774,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,049,416. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 52 week low of $58.93 and a 52 week high of $96.12. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.11.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 24.55% and a return on equity of 22.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Edwards Lifesciences

In related news, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian sold 8,617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.68, for a total value of $755,538.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,981,354.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.54, for a total transaction of $437,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,108,777.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian sold 8,617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.68, for a total value of $755,538.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,218 shares in the company, valued at $5,981,354.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,242 shares of company stock valued at $2,498,870. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $91.00 to $76.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Baird R W cut shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $103.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded Edwards Lifesciences from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $102.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Edwards Lifesciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.10.

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.