New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Stock Position in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,538,275 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 122,525 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.17% of Boston Scientific worth $146,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 125,920,357 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,648,595,000 after buying an additional 8,045,263 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 123,768,348 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,534,969,000 after buying an additional 1,525,432 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 5.9% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 2,336,348 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Boston Scientific by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 21,200,339 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,119,378,000 after purchasing an additional 481,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Boston Scientific by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,207,345 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $908,548,000 after purchasing an additional 51,293 shares in the last quarter. 89.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Boston Scientific

In related news, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 16,351 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.30, for a total transaction of $1,133,124.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,509,213.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 13,662 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $899,779.32. Following the completion of the sale, 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 this link. Also, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 16,351 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.30, for a total transaction of $1,133,124.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,509,213.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,979 shares of company stock worth $3,418,529. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on BSX shares. StockNews.com cut Boston Scientific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Boston Scientific from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Boston Scientific from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Boston Scientific from $65.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho raised Boston Scientific from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.50.

Boston Scientific Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Boston Scientific stock traded up $0.47 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.49. The stock had a trading volume of 2,995,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,348,381. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.07. The stock has a market cap of $100.48 billion, a PE ratio of 63.57, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Boston Scientific Co. has a 12 month low of $48.35 and a 12 month high of $69.21.

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