Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 21,255 Shares of Boston Scientific Corporation $BSX

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its position in shares of Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 605,201 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 21,255 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $37,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Boston Scientific during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Boston Scientific in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 94.7% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 292 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sfam LLC acquired a new stake in Boston Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Boston Scientific

In other news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 3,580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $56.68 per share, for a total transaction of $202,914.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 25,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,437,348.12. This trade represents a 16.44% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cheryl Pegus purchased 1,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $56.49 per share, for a total transaction of $99,987.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,987.30. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 9,800 shares of company stock worth $554,012 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on BSX shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $55.00 price target (down from $75.00) on shares of Boston Scientific in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $77.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $87.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Boston Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.84.

Boston Scientific Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Boston Scientific stock opened at $44.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.06. Boston Scientific Corporation has a 12-month low of $42.20 and a 12-month high of $109.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 19.17% and a net margin of 17.29%.The business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Boston Scientific Corporation will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boston Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, May 18th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical equipment provider to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Boston Scientific Profile

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) is a global medical device company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products used in less-invasive medical procedures. Founded in 1979 by John Abele and Peter Nicholas, the company is headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and focuses on technologies that enable physicians to treat a wide range of cardiovascular, digestive, urologic, pulmonary and chronic pain conditions without open surgery.

Boston Scientific’s activities span product development, clinical research, regulatory affairs and commercial sales.