Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Raises Position in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 164,321 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,388 shares during the quarter. Boston Scientific accounts for about 0.6% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $9,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. HTLF Bank acquired a new position in Boston Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $325,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 46.5% in the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,036 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $754,000 after buying an additional 4,138 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,928 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $979,000 after buying an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 191,998 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $11,099,000 after buying an additional 12,537 shares during the period. Finally, AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in Boston Scientific by 86.4% in the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 22,317 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 10,346 shares in the last quarter. 89.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BSX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised shares of Boston Scientific from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Boston Scientific from $60.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Boston Scientific from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Boston Scientific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Boston Scientific from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Boston Scientific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 13,662 shares of Boston Scientific 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 271,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,883,756.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 13,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was 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 directly owns 271,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,883,756.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 16,351 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.30, for a total value of $1,133,124.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,509,213.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,979 shares of company stock worth $3,418,529. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Boston Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BSX traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.29. 3,555,539 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,331,244. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $98.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.01, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.78. Boston Scientific Co. has a 1 year low of $48.35 and a 1 year high of $69.21.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical equipment provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 15.99% and a net margin of 11.19%. The company had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.