Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) Shares Sold by FIL Ltd

FIL Ltd reduced its holdings in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,895,561 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 424,779 shares during the period. FIL Ltd’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $705,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,890,784 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,869,805,000 after buying an additional 1,600,062 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,165,399 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,230,293,000 after acquiring an additional 3,344,571 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,626,170 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,729,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,329 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at $1,762,522,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,539,488 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,477,307,000 after purchasing an additional 832,386 shares during the period. 89.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 17,313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.80, for a total transaction of $1,762,463.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,502 shares in the company, valued at $560,103.60. This represents a 75.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 1,201 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total transaction of $127,678.31. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,443 shares in the company, valued at $2,704,845.33. This represents a 4.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,183 shares of company stock valued at $13,948,476 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BSX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Boston Scientific in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Boston Scientific from $107.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Boston Scientific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.91.

Boston Scientific Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of BSX stock opened at $91.44 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.76. Boston Scientific Co. has a twelve month low of $66.80 and a twelve month high of $107.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $135.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.15, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.73.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.05. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 17.80%. As a group, research analysts predict that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Boston Scientific Profile

Boston Scientific Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for use in various interventional medical specialties worldwide. It operates through two segments, MedSurg and Cardiovascular. The company offers devices to diagnose and treat gastrointestinal and pulmonary conditions, such as resolution clips, biliary stent systems, stents and electrocautery enhanced delivery systems, direct visualization systems, digital catheters, and single-use duodenoscopes; devices to treat urological conditions, including ureteral stents, catheters, baskets, guidewires, sheaths, balloons, single-use digital flexible ureteroscopes, holmium laser systems, artificial urinary sphincter, laser system, fiber, and hydrogel systems; and devices to treat neurological movement disorders and manage chronic pain, such as spinal cord stimulator system, proprietary programming software, radiofrequency generator, indirect decompression systems, practice optimization tools, and deep brain stimulation system.