Phoenix Financial Ltd. Trims Stake in Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX)

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. reduced its holdings in Boston Scientific by 21% in the first quarter, selling 28,112 shares and now holding 105,907 shares worth approximately $10.7 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes in Boston Scientific, with Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosting its holdings by 40.8% and BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raising its position by 109.9% in recent quarters.
• Analysts have a positive outlook on Boston Scientific, with multiple firms raising their target prices; Oppenheimer set a target price of $118, while UBS increased it to $135 and assigned a "buy" rating.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lessened its position in Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX - Free Report) by 21.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,907 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 28,112 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $10,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BSX. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,344,571 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,626,170 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $2,729,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,329 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 27,899,903 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $2,492,041,000 after purchasing an additional 6,216,199 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 2.5% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 554,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,762,522,000. Institutional investors own 89.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Boston Scientific news, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 17,314 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.06, for a total transaction of $1,767,066.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,269,304.10. This represents a 43.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph Michael Fitzgerald sold 56,372 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were 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 approximately $18,347,824.96. This represents a 24.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 461,144 shares of company stock valued at $47,720,408 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BSX shares. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Boston Scientific to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $117.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.50.

Boston Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of BSX traded up $1.34 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $107.18. 2,253,497 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,699,240. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $103.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.66. Boston Scientific Corporation has a 1 year low of $71.88 and a 1 year high of $108.94. The stock has a market cap of $158.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.68.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.03. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 13.55% and a return on equity of 19.39%. The firm had revenue of $5.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Boston Scientific Corporation will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

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.