World Investment Advisors Grows Position in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,215 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,531 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $1,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BSX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Boston Scientific by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,890,784 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,869,805,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600,062 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,165,399 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,230,293,000 after purchasing an additional 3,344,571 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Boston Scientific by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,626,170 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,729,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,329 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Boston Scientific in the 4th quarter worth about $1,762,522,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Boston Scientific by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,539,488 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,477,307,000 after buying an additional 832,386 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BSX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $105.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $119.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Boston Scientific from $107.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.91.

Boston Scientific Price Performance

Shares of Boston Scientific stock opened at $89.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Boston Scientific Co. has a one year low of $66.80 and a one year high of $107.17. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.77.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.05. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 17.80%. Analysts forecast that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Boston Scientific

In other Boston Scientific news, EVP Jeffrey B. Mirviss sold 4,675 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total value of $487,368.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,966,329.50. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 67,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.24, for a total value of $7,086,124.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 225,808 shares in the company, valued at $23,764,033.92. This trade represents a 22.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 133,183 shares of company stock worth $13,948,476. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.