O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 239,740 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 23,605 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $21,414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Boston Scientific by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,890,784 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $11,869,805,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600,062 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Boston Scientific by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,846,328 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,266,522,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,172 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Boston Scientific by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 32,820,828 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,750,385,000 after acquiring an additional 718,515 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Boston Scientific by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,584,841 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,469,607,000 after purchasing an additional 480,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Boston Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,762,522,000. Institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on BSX. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Boston Scientific from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Boston Scientific in a report on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Boston Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $108.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 15,087 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.07, for a total transaction of $1,585,191.09. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 241,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,369,256.57. This represents a 5.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey B. Mirviss sold 4,675 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total value of $487,368.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,966,329.50. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 137,302 shares of company stock valued at $14,319,269. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Boston Scientific Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE BSX opened at $99.29 on Monday. Boston Scientific Co. has a one year low of $66.80 and a one year high of $107.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $146.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.18.

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

Boston Scientific Company 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.