CENTRAL TRUST Co Raises Stake in Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX)

CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in shares of Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX - Free Report) by 108.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,472 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,976 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co's holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $1,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,890,784 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $11,869,805,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600,062 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Boston Scientific by 10.2% in 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 buying an additional 3,344,571 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,626,170 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $2,729,371,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,329 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 28.7% during 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. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 22,312,967 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,992,994,000 after acquiring an additional 554,388 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.07% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Vance R. Brown sold 4,826 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.09, for a total transaction of $458,904.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 36,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,441,592.37. This represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Joseph Michael Fitzgerald sold 56,372 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.88, for a total transaction of $5,799,551.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 178,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,347,824.96. This trade represents a 24.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 411,970 shares of company stock valued at $42,406,693. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BSX. Barclays lifted their price objective on Boston Scientific from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Boston Scientific in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Boston Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Boston Scientific presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $116.09.

Boston Scientific Price Performance

Shares of BSX traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $101.36. 5,188,625 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,586,240. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.96 billion, a PE ratio of 73.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.91. Boston Scientific Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $71.88 and a fifty-two week high of $107.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.57 billion. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 11.58% and a return on equity of 18.67%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Boston Scientific Corporation will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.