Wedmont Private Capital Boosts Stock Holdings in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,236 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,506 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $1,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in Boston Scientific by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 4,119,399 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $345,205,000 after acquiring an additional 173,034 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Boston Scientific during the second quarter worth approximately $482,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,010,441 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $168,475,000 after buying an additional 111,724 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,456,741 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $289,675,000 after purchasing an additional 30,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Boston Scientific by 153.5% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 197,387 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $16,541,000 after buying an additional 119,525 shares during the period. 89.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Boston Scientific from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Boston Scientific from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Boston Scientific from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Boston Scientific currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.26.

Boston Scientific Stock Performance

NYSE BSX traded down $0.21 during trading on Monday, hitting $94.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,110,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,045,658. Boston Scientific Co. has a 52 week low of $59.61 and a 52 week high of $97.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $89.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.89. The firm has a market cap of $139.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.04. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 17.23%. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Wendy Carruthers sold 6,983 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.78, for a total transaction of $633,916.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,308 shares in the company, valued at $2,660,580.24. This represents a 19.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 14,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.27, for a total transaction of $1,250,672.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,306.06. This trade represents a 93.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,989 shares of company stock worth $2,702,261 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Boston Scientific Company 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.