Boston Scientific Corporation $BSX Stock: AIA Group Ltd Lowers Position

Key Points

• AIA Group cut its Boston Scientific stake by 88% in the third quarter, selling 48,199 shares and retaining 6,578 shares valued at about $287,000. Institutional investors collectively own 89.07% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $61.43, though recent target changes and ratings were mixed.
• Boston Scientific matched quarterly earnings expectations at $0.73 per share and beat revenue estimates with $5.14 billion; revenue grew 1.4% year over year. Shares opened at $44.60, down 2.7% in the session described.

AIA Group Ltd reduced its position in shares of Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX - Free Report) by 88.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,578 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 48,199 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Boston Scientific by 20,140.4% in the third quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,537 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 11,480 shares during the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp bought a new position in shares of Boston Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth $24,031,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Boston Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth $79,000. Integrity Alliance LLC. increased its holdings in Boston Scientific by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 7,525 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Nebraska Trust Co purchased a new stake in Boston Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,847,000. 89.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Boston Scientific from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $71.00 to $57.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Boston Scientific from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.43.

Boston Scientific Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of Boston Scientific stock opened at $44.60 on Friday. Boston Scientific Corporation has a 12-month low of $39.57 and a 12-month high of $105.65. The company has a market cap of $64.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company's 50-day moving average price is $44.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.94.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 16.62% and a return on equity of 18.61%. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. Boston Scientific's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Boston Scientific Corporation will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boston Scientific Profile

Boston Scientific Corporation is a medical technology company that develops, manufactures and markets devices used to diagnose and treat a broad range of complex medical conditions. Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts, the company serves healthcare providers and patients worldwide.

Its products support minimally invasive procedures in areas including interventional cardiology, peripheral interventions, electrophysiology, endoscopy, urology and neuromodulation.

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