Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Boosts Stake in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its position in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 15.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 31,402 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,169 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $2,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Boston Scientific by 69.9% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 16,008,085 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,096,394,000 after purchasing an additional 6,588,256 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 115.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,720,480 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $517,544,000 after acquiring an additional 3,608,158 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in Boston Scientific during the 1st quarter valued at about $182,897,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its position in Boston Scientific by 4,292.3% during the 3rd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 2,676,847 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $224,320,000 after acquiring an additional 2,615,903 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Boston Scientific by 30.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,899,610 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $608,349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,824,405 shares in the last quarter. 89.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Boston Scientific Stock Performance

BSX opened at $90.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.63, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $85.56 and a 200 day moving average of $79.84. Boston Scientific Co. has a fifty-two week low of $53.93 and a fifty-two week high of $91.08.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.04. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 17.23%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. Boston Scientific’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Boston Scientific in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Boston Scientific from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Boston Scientific from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Boston Scientific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.39.

Insider Transactions at Boston Scientific

In other news, EVP Joseph Michael Fitzgerald sold 132,527 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $11,264,795.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 160,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,639,695. This represents a 45.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael F. Mahoney sold 162,777 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $13,775,817.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,572,096 shares in the company, valued at $133,046,484.48. This trade represents a 9.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 309,270 shares of company stock worth $26,196,718. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.