Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Reduces Position in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its position in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,300 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,600 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $7,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BSX. Schear Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 23,106 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,064,000 after buying an additional 3,336 shares during the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC purchased a new position in Boston Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at $975,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in Boston Scientific by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Boston Scientific by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,621 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Finally, BostonPremier Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific during the fourth quarter worth $226,000. Institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 14,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.27, for a total value of $1,250,672.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,306.06. This represents a 93.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Edward J. Ludwig sold 4,877 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.63, for a total value of $446,879.51. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 39,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,610,038.74. This represents a 11.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 53,830 shares of company stock worth $5,149,969 over the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Boston Scientific Price Performance

NYSE BSX opened at $106.03 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Boston Scientific Co. has a 12-month low of $64.54 and a 12-month high of $107.17.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.05. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 18.11% and a net margin of 11.07%. Analysts forecast that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Boston Scientific from $119.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Boston Scientific from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $107.39.

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.