Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt Boosts Stake in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,743,100 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 269,400 shares during the quarter. Boston Scientific comprises approximately 1.3% of Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt owned 0.19% of Boston Scientific worth $245,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BSX. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA raised its position in Boston Scientific by 9.7% in the third quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 1,352 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Adero Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 3,737 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,923 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in Boston Scientific by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 8,113 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Boston Scientific by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 7,827 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. 89.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Boston Scientific Stock Performance

NYSE BSX opened at $101.61 on Thursday. Boston Scientific Co. has a 1-year low of $65.52 and a 1-year high of $107.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $98.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.95. The company has a market capitalization of $149.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.29, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 1,201 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total transaction of $127,678.31. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,704,845.33. This represents a 4.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 15,087 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 241,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,369,256.57. The trade was a 5.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 144,305 shares of company stock worth $14,954,985. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on BSX. Barclays raised their price objective on Boston Scientific from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Boston Scientific from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $105.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James upped 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.39.

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.