Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) Shares Sold by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lessened its holdings in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX - Free Report) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,938 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 17,093 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $6,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Boston Scientific in the 4th quarter worth about $1,762,522,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Boston Scientific by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 27,899,903 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $2,492,041,000 after acquiring an additional 6,216,199 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Boston Scientific by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,165,399 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $3,230,293,000 after acquiring an additional 3,344,571 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE grew its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 208.2% in the 4th quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 3,752,430 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $335,167,000 after buying an additional 2,535,007 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Boston Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at $190,780,000. 89.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BSX. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $119.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Boston Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Boston Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Boston Scientific currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $114.52.

Boston Scientific Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:BSX traded up $0.32 on Thursday, reaching $103.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,296,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,323,707. Boston Scientific Co. has a 12-month low of $70.97 and a 12-month high of $107.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $152.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $98.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.13.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.57 billion. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 11.07%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 15,087 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.07, for a total transaction of $1,585,191.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 241,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,369,256.57. This represents a 5.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 17,313 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.80, for a total value of $1,762,463.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $560,103.60. This trade represents a 75.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 138,009 shares of company stock worth $14,407,381 in the last quarter. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.