Legal & General Group Plc Purchases 360,793 Shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,922,773 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 360,793 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.95% of Boston Scientific worth $1,072,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific during the fourth quarter worth $956,000. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Boston Scientific by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,841 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in Boston Scientific by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,380 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Boston Scientific by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 25,379 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 4,127 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,615,932 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $93,417,000 after purchasing an additional 155,565 shares during the period. 89.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Boston Scientific Stock Performance

Boston Scientific stock opened at $83.08 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $79.22 and a 200-day moving average of $75.07. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $48.35 and a 1 year high of $84.89. The company has a market capitalization of $121.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.79.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 12.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The firm had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Wendy Carruthers sold 6,983 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,978,734.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $1,627,877. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BSX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Boston Scientific from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com lowered Boston Scientific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Boston Scientific from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Boston Scientific in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.65.

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.