Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Boosts Position in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC lifted its position in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,141 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 426 shares during the quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BSX. BSW Wealth Partners grew its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 7,398 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Boston Scientific by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7,526 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. now owns 4,093 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,999 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altfest L J & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.6% during the third quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 13,298 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 89.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Boston Scientific news, Director Edward J. Ludwig sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.03, for a total value of $455,210.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 41,374 shares in the company, valued at $2,690,551.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.03, for a total value of $455,210.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 41,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,690,551.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 13,662 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $899,779.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 271,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,883,756.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 60,797 shares of company stock worth $4,138,090 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BSX shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on Boston Scientific from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Mizuho increased their price objective on Boston Scientific from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Boston Scientific from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boston Scientific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.09.

Boston Scientific Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE BSX traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.86. 8,713,114 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,648,357. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $48.35 and a 12-month high of $74.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $68.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.95. The firm has a market cap of $105.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.78.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical equipment provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.59 billion. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 12.06%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current year.

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.