First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Grows Holdings in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,024 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,187 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $2,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BSX. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 201,364 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $10,632,000 after buying an additional 13,121 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 42,606 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,250,000 after buying an additional 8,766 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 465,701 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $24,589,000 after buying an additional 12,757 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 492,827 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $26,021,000 after buying an additional 113,832 shares during the period. Finally, Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Boston Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at about $252,000. 89.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 13,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $899,779.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 271,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,883,756.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig sold 9,818 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $719,561.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 41,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,032,300.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 13,662 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $899,779.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 271,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,883,756.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,797 shares of company stock valued at $4,138,090 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Boston Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BSX traded down $0.70 on Thursday, reaching $71.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,163,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,573,054. Boston Scientific Co. has a 52-week low of $48.35 and a 52-week high of $74.39. The company has a market cap of $107.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.68, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical equipment provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 12.06% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on BSX. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $63.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.09.

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.