ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 0.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 615,543 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,755 shares during the quarter. Boston Scientific comprises about 2.1% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $51,583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSX. SageView Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Boston Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $588,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Boston Scientific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $469,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Boston Scientific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $139,000. CWM LLC raised its position in Boston Scientific by 5.3% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 29,697 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in Boston Scientific by 4.4% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 7,367 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BSX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Boston Scientific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.55.

Boston Scientific Stock Performance

BSX opened at $87.02 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.12, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $82.03 and a 200 day moving average of $76.89. Boston Scientific Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.15 and a fifty-two week high of $88.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.04. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 12.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The business had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Boston Scientific news, CEO Michael F. Mahoney sold 162,777 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $13,775,817.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,572,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,046,484.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Michael F. Mahoney sold 162,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $13,775,817.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,572,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,046,484.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph Michael Fitzgerald sold 132,527 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $11,264,795.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 160,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,639,695. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 316,253 shares of company stock valued at $26,714,298 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.