Ballentine Partners LLC Reduces Its Holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co.

During the third quarter, Ballentine Partners LLC decreased its stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW – Free Report) by 12.5%. This information was revealed in their latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. After selling 670 shares, Ballentine Partners LLC now holds 4,674 shares of the medical research firm’s stock, which had a total value of approximately $308,000 at the end of the quarter.

Other institutional investors have also adjusted their positions in the stock. For instance, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings by 0.5% during the second quarter and now owns 23,484 shares worth $2,169,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares. Meanwhile, City State Bank raised its stake by 16.5%, resulting in ownership of 917 shares valued at around $85,000 after purchasing 130 additional shares in the same quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings by 6.0% in the first quarter, accumulating a total of 2,677 shares worth $255,000 following a purchase of 152 shares. Additionally, Choreo LLC increased its stake by 4.1% in the first quarter, now owning 3,840 shares valued at $367,000 after adding 153 shares. Stableford Capital II LLC also lifted its holdings by 2.7% in the second quarter, owning 6,104 shares worth $533,000 after acquiring 159 shares. The majority, 79.46%, of the stock continues to be held by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions

In related developments, Vice President Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 of his shares on October 15th at an average price of $69.51, totaling approximately $347,550. Following this sale, he maintains ownership of 46,936 shares valued at around $3,262,521.38, reflecting a 0.00% decrease in his stock ownership. This transaction was reported in an SEC filing accessible to the public. Additionally, Vice President Daveen Chopra sold 1,250 shares on August 20th at an average price of $69.95, amounting to approximately $87,437.50. After this sale, he owns 29,333 shares valued at about $2,051,843.35, which is also a 0.00% decrease in ownership. Over the past 90 days, corporate insiders have sold a total of 16,250 shares worth around $1,099,238, with corporate insiders owning 1.29% of the stock.

Analyst Insights

Recently, several analysts have provided updates on Edwards Lifesciences shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft revised their price target from $103.00 to $85.00 and maintained a “buy” rating. Citigroup also lowered its price target from $83.00 to $77.00, while keeping a “buy” rating. Bank of America downgraded the stock from “buy” to “neutral” and cut their price target from $105.00 to $75.00. Furthermore, Barclays decreased its price target from $90.00 to $80.00, recommending an “overweight” rating, and Evercore ISI reduced its price objective from $76.00 to $70.00, labeling it as “in-line.” In total, 15 research analysts have rated the stock as a ‘hold,’ with 10 giving it a ‘buy’ rating and one issuing a ‘strong buy’ rating. According to MarketBeat data, Edwards Lifesciences has a consensus rating of ‘Hold’ and a consensus price target of $75.67.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Activity

As of the latest market opening, shares of EW were priced at $68.52. The company has a quick ratio of 2.87, a current ratio of 3.71, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Over the last year, Edwards Lifesciences Co. recorded a low of $58.93 and a high of $96.12. Their 50-day simple moving average stands at $68.10, while the 200-day moving average is at $78.13. The company's market capitalization is $41.29 billion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.53, a PEG ratio of 3.00, and a beta of 1.13.

Recently, Edwards Lifesciences announced its earnings results on October 24th, reporting earnings per share (EPS) of $0.67 for the quarter, which matches analyst expectations. The company demonstrated a return on equity of 22.35% and achieved a net margin of 24.55%. Their revenue for the quarter totaled $1.35 billion, falling short of expectations which were set at $1.57 billion. Year-over-year, the revenue experienced an 8.9% increase. Analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will report an EPS of 2.61 for the current year.

About Edwards Lifesciences

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation specializes in products and technologies designed for structural heart disease and critical care monitoring. They operate in the United States, Europe, Japan, and internationally. Their offerings include transcatheter heart valve replacement products for minimally invasive replacements of aortic heart valves, featured under the Edwards SAPIEN family of valves, and transcatheter heart valve repair and replacement products for treating mitral and tricuspid valve conditions, identified under the PASCAL PRECISION and Cardioband names.

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