E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Cuts Stake in Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX)

Key Points

• E Fund Management Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in Boston Scientific Corporation by 17.6%, holding 71,560 shares valued at approximately $7.22 million after selling 15,288 shares in Q1.
• In recent activity, insider Yoshiaki Fujimori sold 2,901 shares worth around $310,378, while EVP Joseph Michael Fitzgerald sold 50,000 shares for about $5.23 million, reducing their ownership significantly.
• Boston Scientific's stock has received numerous positive upgrades, boasting a current consensus rating of "Buy" and a price target of $117.50 amid strong Q2 earnings results and a projected earnings per share of 2.85 for the year.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX - Free Report) by 17.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 71,560 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 15,288 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $7,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 6.6% in the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 47,163 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $4,758,000 after buying an additional 2,930 shares in the last quarter. S Bank Fund Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Boston Scientific in the first quarter worth about $1,397,000. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 5.2% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,523,142 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $355,415,000 after buying an additional 172,938 shares in the last quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Boston Scientific in the first quarter worth about $209,000. Finally, LGT Group Foundation lifted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 143.8% in the first quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 311,411 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $31,415,000 after buying an additional 183,661 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on BSX shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $110.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Boston Scientific to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Boston Scientific in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boston Scientific currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $117.50.

Boston Scientific Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:BSX traded down $1.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $103.15. 5,342,171 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,961,994. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.40, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Boston Scientific Corporation has a 12-month low of $77.29 and a 12-month high of $108.94. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $103.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.09.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 13.55% and a return on equity of 19.21%. The company's revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Boston Scientific Corporation will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Yoshiaki Fujimori sold 2,901 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.99, for a total transaction of $310,377.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,081 shares in the company, valued at $222,646.19. This represents a 58.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael F. Mahoney sold 164,443 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.69, for a total transaction of $17,051,094.67. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,476,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $153,137,894.58. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 345,029 shares of company stock worth $35,976,603 over the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Boston Scientific 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.