Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 6,788 Shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 157,116 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,788 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $9,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 8,045,263 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 123,768,348 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,534,969,000 after acquiring an additional 1,525,432 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 42,076,529 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,221,641,000 after acquiring an additional 2,336,348 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 473,888 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in Boston Scientific by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 23,393,853 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,082,436,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659,431 shares during the last quarter. 89.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on BSX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Boston Scientific from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Boston Scientific in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $71.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Boston Scientific currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Boston Scientific news, Director Edward J. Ludwig sold 7,000 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.03, for a total transaction of $455,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 41,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,690,551.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 13,662 shares of Boston Scientific 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 271,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,883,756.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Edward J. Ludwig sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.03, for a total transaction of $455,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,979 shares of company stock worth $3,418,529. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Boston Scientific Price Performance

NYSE BSX opened at $67.33 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $98.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.93, 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $67.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.96. Boston Scientific Co. has a 1 year low of $48.35 and a 1 year high of $69.21.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical equipment provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current 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.