Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 671,744 Shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Prudential Financial Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 26.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,898,455 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 671,744 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.13% of Boston Scientific worth $169,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BSX. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in Boston Scientific by 308.8% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 278 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 86.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 328 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 423.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 309 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC acquired a new position in Boston Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Boston Scientific by 262.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 395 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. 89.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Boston Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of Boston Scientific stock opened at $100.66 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $148.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.53, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $101.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.50. Boston Scientific Co. has a 1-year low of $66.80 and a 1-year high of $107.17.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 11.07%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BSX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Boston Scientific in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Boston Scientific from $105.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Boston Scientific in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Boston Scientific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Boston Scientific news, Director Edward J. Ludwig sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.48, for a total value of $1,265,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,573,501.04. This trade represents a 32.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 4,119 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total transaction of $370,792.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,179,416.38. The trade was a 10.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,302 shares of company stock worth $14,319,269. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.