Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Purchases 691,454 Shares of Boston Scientific Corporation $BSX

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in Boston Scientific Corporation by 79.3% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 691,454 shares to own approximately 1,563,718 shares valued at about $157.75 million.
• Various institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Capital World Investors, also raised their positions, reflecting a strong interest in Boston Scientific, with institutional ownership now at 89.07%.
• Boston Scientific has seen its stock price target raised by several analysts, with average targets now around $117.50, while the company reported 22.8% year-over-year revenue growth.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in shares of Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX - Free Report) by 79.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,563,718 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 691,454 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 0.11% of Boston Scientific worth $157,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BSX. HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in Boston Scientific by 1.4% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 6,875 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Boston Scientific by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 8,740 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 881 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 6,331 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. 89.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Boston Scientific Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Boston Scientific stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $103.06. The company had a trading volume of 8,516,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,576,654. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $103.56 and a 200 day moving average of $102.09. Boston Scientific Corporation has a 52-week low of $77.71 and a 52-week high of $108.94.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

BSX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Boston Scientific in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Boston Scientific in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Boston Scientific from $110.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Boston Scientific in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $118.00 target price for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Boston Scientific from $121.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $117.50.

Insider Transactions at Boston Scientific

In other Boston Scientific news, EVP Joseph Michael Fitzgerald sold 56,372 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 178,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,347,824.96. This trade represents a 24.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael F. Mahoney sold 164,443 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.69, for a total value of $17,051,094.67. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,476,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $153,137,894.58. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 345,029 shares of company stock worth $35,976,603. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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.