Ieq Capital LLC Grows Stake in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,338 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,182 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $4,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Boston Scientific by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 127,437,884 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $8,728,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,988,082 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in Boston Scientific by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 37,905,659 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,191,326,000 after acquiring an additional 550,490 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Boston Scientific by 69.9% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 16,008,085 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,096,394,000 after acquiring an additional 6,588,256 shares during the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 110.5% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 13,067,570 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $755,436,000 after purchasing an additional 6,859,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,974,569 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $668,472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,140 shares in the last quarter. 89.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Boston Scientific

In other news, EVP Wendy Carruthers sold 6,983 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction of $517,579.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,978,734.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $1,627,877 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BSX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Boston Scientific from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.38.

Boston Scientific Stock Performance

BSX opened at $83.92 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.63. The stock has a market cap of $123.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.79. Boston Scientific Co. has a 1-year low of $48.35 and a 1-year high of $84.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.04. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 12.00%. The business had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.4 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.