Country Trust Bank Acquires Shares of 4,565 Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Country Trust Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,565 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $383,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BSX. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its position in Boston Scientific by 110.5% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 13,067,570 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $755,436,000 after buying an additional 6,859,280 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 69.9% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 16,008,085 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,096,394,000 after acquiring an additional 6,588,256 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 115.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,720,480 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $517,544,000 after acquiring an additional 3,608,158 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of Boston Scientific during the first quarter valued at $182,897,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 127,437,884 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,728,221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,988,082 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Boston Scientific Trading Up 1.7 %

Boston Scientific stock opened at $85.83 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.03. The company has a market cap of $125.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.80. Boston Scientific Co. has a 52-week low of $48.35 and a 52-week high of $86.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 12.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. Analysts predict that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Boston Scientific

In other news, EVP Wendy Carruthers sold 6,983 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.70, for a total transaction of $570,511.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,061,135.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Wendy Carruthers sold 6,983 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.70, for a total transaction of $570,511.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,061,135.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael F. Mahoney sold 162,777 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $13,775,817.51. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,572,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,046,484.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 316,253 shares of company stock worth $26,714,298 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Boston Scientific from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on Boston Scientific from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. BTIG Research raised their price target on Boston Scientific from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Boston Scientific from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Boston Scientific from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.60.

About Boston Scientific

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.