Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,151,709 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 44,350 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $85,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. 79.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

Edwards Lifesciences stock opened at $73.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.62. The stock has a market cap of $42.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.15. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 12-month low of $58.93 and a 12-month high of $95.25.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The medical research company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.04. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 72.93%. Equities analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences

In other news, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.76, for a total value of $34,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 23,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,594,475.64. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 11,250 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.87, for a total transaction of $797,287.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,387 shares in the company, valued at $2,153,526.69. The trade was a 27.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,553 shares of company stock valued at $4,513,064 over the last three months. 1.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $75.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.95.

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.