Whitener Capital Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Whitener Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,698 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 725 shares during the period. Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EW. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 138.7% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.46% of the company’s stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

Edwards Lifesciences stock opened at $69.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $71.99 and its 200 day moving average is $71.60. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a twelve month low of $58.93 and a twelve month high of $96.12. The company has a market capitalization of $41.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.11.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.67. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 70.82% and a return on equity of 20.76%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Edwards Lifesciences’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.48.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Larry L. Wood sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.91, for a total value of $1,647,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 198,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,084,848.66. This trade represents a 11.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.08, for a total value of $185,200.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 23,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,717,841.12. This represents a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,195,180 in the last 90 days. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.