CPA Asset Management LLC Reduces Stake in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

CPA Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,968 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,092 shares during the period. CPA Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 125,920,357 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $6,648,595,000 after acquiring an additional 8,045,263 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Boston Scientific by 1.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 123,768,348 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $6,534,969,000 after acquiring an additional 1,525,432 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Boston Scientific by 1.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 63,191,897 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,418,050,000 after purchasing an additional 982,853 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 5.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 42,076,529 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,221,641,000 after purchasing an additional 2,336,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,329,129 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,263,857,000 after buying an additional 473,888 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Boston Scientific Price Performance

BSX stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Thursday, hitting $68.61. 1,394,256 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,477,289. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.32. Boston Scientific Co. has a 52 week low of $48.35 and a 52 week high of $68.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.78.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical equipment provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 15.99% and a net margin of 11.19%. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Boston Scientific news, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 13,662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $899,779.32. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 271,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,883,756.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 13,662 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $899,779.32. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 271,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,883,756.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Edward J. Ludwig sold 7,000 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.03, for a total value of $455,210.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 41,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,690,551.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 76,460 shares of company stock valued at $4,759,945. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BSX. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Boston Scientific from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 4th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Boston Scientific from $65.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Boston Scientific from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.62.

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.