Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Trims Holdings in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its holdings in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 79,416 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,295 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $7,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 308.8% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 278 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 86.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 328 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 423.7% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 309 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Boston Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 262.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 395 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. 89.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James lifted 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. Argus set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Boston Scientific in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.91.

Insider Activity at Boston Scientific

In other news, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 1,201 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total value 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 $2,704,845.33. This represents a 4.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 15,087 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 241,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,369,256.57. This trade represents a 5.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 137,302 shares of company stock worth $14,319,269. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Boston Scientific Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BSX opened at $100.77 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.62, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.77. Boston Scientific Co. has a 52-week low of $66.80 and a 52-week high of $107.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (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 17.80%. Analysts expect that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

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.