Essex Financial Services Inc. Raises Holdings in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 13.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,621 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BSX. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 2.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,846,328 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $5,266,522,000 after buying an additional 1,389,172 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew 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 worth $2,750,385,000 after acquiring an additional 718,515 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,584,841 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,469,607,000 after acquiring an additional 480,729 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 0.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,018,377 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $671,940,000 after acquiring an additional 64,720 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 17.5% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,470,174 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $457,138,000 after purchasing an additional 815,403 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Boston Scientific Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE BSX opened at $106.16 on Friday. Boston Scientific Co. has a 12 month low of $65.00 and a 12 month high of $107.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $95.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.85. The stock has a market cap of $156.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.80.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.05. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 18.11%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BSX. StockNews.com upgraded Boston Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Boston Scientific in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.39.

Insider Activity at Boston Scientific

In other Boston Scientific news, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 14,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.27, for a total transaction of $1,250,672.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,306.06. This trade represents a 93.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 4,119 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total value of $370,792.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,179,416.38. This represents a 10.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 87,326 shares of company stock valued at $8,673,948 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.