GDS Wealth Management Buys 90,328 Shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

GDS Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) by 98.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 182,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 90,328 shares during the quarter. Edwards Lifesciences accounts for approximately 1.9% of GDS Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $13,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,633,416 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,577,163,000 after acquiring an additional 325,808 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 9.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,434,401 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,138,575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390,427 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 3.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,357,473 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $440,446,000 after purchasing an additional 241,347 shares during the last quarter. WELLCOME TRUST LTD THE as trustee of the WELLCOME TRUST lifted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. WELLCOME TRUST LTD THE as trustee of the WELLCOME TRUST now owns 4,100,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $312,625,000 after purchasing an additional 590,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ownership Capital B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Ownership Capital B.V. now owns 3,489,915 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $266,106,000 after purchasing an additional 613,817 shares during the last quarter. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance

Edwards Lifesciences stock traded up $2.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $87.42. The stock had a trading volume of 3,421,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,709,712. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.68, a P/E/G 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. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $90.03 and its 200 day moving average is $79.73. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a one year low of $60.57 and a one year high of $96.12.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 23.01% and a return on equity of 22.86%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EW. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian purchased 580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 $280,198.32. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Bernard J. Zovighian purchased 580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 $280,198.32. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Jean-Luc M. Lemercier sold 14,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.21, for a total transaction of $1,212,624.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 173,849 shares in the company, valued at $14,639,824.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 230,693 shares of company stock worth $20,310,942 in the last 90 days. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.