Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 225,678 Shares of Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Boston Scientific Corporation by 20.6%, acquiring an additional 225,678 shares, bringing their total ownership to approximately 1.32 million shares valued at $133.16 million.
• Insider selling activity includes EVP Joseph Michael Fitzgerald selling 50,000 shares for approximately $5.23 million, representing a 21.90% decrease in his ownership.
• Boston Scientific's stock is currently rated as a buy by most analysts, with a consensus target price of $117.50, following better-than-expected quarterly earnings.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX - Free Report) by 20.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,321,992 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 225,678 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of Boston Scientific worth $133,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 134,588,729 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $13,577,311,000 after purchasing an additional 1,697,945 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position 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 position 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. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,624,940 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,677,124,000 after purchasing an additional 834,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,595,627 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,303,681,000 after purchasing an additional 2,221,790 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, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 17,313 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.63, for a total transaction of $1,811,459.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,469,268. This represents a 42.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Joseph Michael Fitzgerald sold 56,372 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.88, for a total value of $5,799,551.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 178,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 345,029 shares of company stock worth $35,976,603. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Boston Scientific Stock Up 1.6%

Boston Scientific stock traded up $1.65 during trading on Thursday, hitting $104.15. 7,246,071 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,600,660. The business's 50 day moving average is $103.51 and its 200 day moving average is $102.08. Boston Scientific Corporation has a 52 week low of $76.60 and a 52 week high of $108.94. The company has a market capitalization of $154.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.99, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX - Get Free Report) last posted 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Boston Scientific Corporation will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BSX. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Boston Scientific to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $110.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Boston Scientific to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Boston Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Boston Scientific has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.50.

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.