Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) said yesterday that it’s accelerating a share repurchasing program with a $350 million buy from Morgan Stanley.
The stock buyback is part of a $750 million repurchasing plan Edwards put in place before executing a 2-for-1 stock split late last year.
The Irvine, Calif.-based replacement heart valve maker said the plan calls for an initial delivery of 3.2 million shares, with the final number to be determined by the volume weighted average share price for up to 10 months, Edwards said.
Earlier this week, Edwards reported 4th-quarter profits of $140.7 million, or 65¢ per share, on sales of $671.1 million, for a bottom-line gain of 28.8% on sales growth of 8.6% compared Q4 2014. Adjusted earnings per share topped analysts’ consensus forecast by a penny, at 63¢. For the full fiscal year, profits were $494.9 million, or $2.30 per share, on sales of $2.49 billion, for a bottom-line slide of -39% on a 7.4% sales gain compared with 2014. Adjusted EPS were $2.29, 2¢ above Wall Street’s consensus.
Edwards said it’s funding the Morgan Stanley buyback with available cash. The company reported $718.4 in cash & equivalents as of Dec. 31, 2015.
EW shares have gained 4.7% since the Dec. 14 split. The stock closed at $83.58 yesterday, up 0.3%.
