Candriam S.C.A. Acquires 13,730 Shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 3.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 436,741 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,730 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $33,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BSX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 127,437,884 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,728,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,988,082 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 37,905,659 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,191,326,000 after acquiring an additional 550,490 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Boston Scientific in the 4th quarter worth approximately $930,626,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Boston Scientific by 69.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 16,008,085 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,096,394,000 after purchasing an additional 6,588,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC raised its position in Boston Scientific by 110.5% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 13,067,570 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $755,436,000 after purchasing an additional 6,859,280 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BSX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Boston Scientific from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Boston Scientific from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Boston Scientific from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Boston Scientific from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Wendy Carruthers sold 6,983 shares of the 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock worth $1,627,877 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Boston Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of BSX opened at $81.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $119.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.61, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. Boston Scientific Co. has a twelve month low of $48.35 and a twelve month high of $82.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $77.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.48.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 12.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Boston Scientific

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.