Bank of Nova Scotia sells shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW)

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW – Free Report) by 49.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company's most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 363,619 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 348,691 shares during the same period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.06% of Edwards Lifesciences worth $27,708,000 at the end of the last quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Scotia Capital Inc. increased its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 22,386 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,707,000 after buying an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 7,092 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $541,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,233,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.46% of the company's stock.

Changes in analyst ratings

EW has been the subject of numerous analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Edwards Lifesciences from “hold” to “buy” in a report on Monday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Edwards Lifesciences from “hold” to “buy” in a report on Tuesday, May 14th and increased their price target for the company from $86.00 to $103.00. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $98.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating. The company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.06, according to data from MarketBeat.

Read our latest stock analysis on Edwards Lifesciences

Insider activity

In other news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 7,255 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.89, for a total value of $688,426.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,074 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,809,931.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Michael A. Mussallem sold 29,350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.67, for a total value of $2,543,764.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $388,801.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 7,255 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.89, for a total value of $688,426.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,074 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,809,931.86. The disclosure regarding this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 182,069 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,169,397, in the last three months. 1.29% of the shares are currently owned by company insiders.

Share price development of Edwards Lifesciences

Edwards Lifesciences stock traded $1.00 lower during midday trading on Friday, reaching $86.89. 4,619,581 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,177,391. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a twelve month low of $60.57 and a twelve month high of $96.12. The company's 50 day moving average is $89.05 and its 200 day moving average is $82.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 3.75. The company has a market capitalization of $52.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.10.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25. The medical research company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 23.01%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.58 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post earnings per share of $2.77 for the current fiscal year.

Edwards Lifesciences Company Profile

(Free report)

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation provides products and technologies for structural heart disease and critical care monitoring in the United States, Europe, Japan and worldwide. The company offers transcatheter heart valve replacement products for minimally invasive aortic valve replacement under the Edwards SAPIEN family of valve systems, and transcatheter heart valve repair and replacement products for the treatment of mitral and tricuspid valve disease under the PASCAL PRECISION and Cardioband brands.

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