Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Position in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 16,539,488 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 832,386 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $1,477,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Boston Scientific by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,890,784 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,869,805,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600,062 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,846,328 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,266,522,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,172 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Boston Scientific by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,165,399 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,230,293,000 after purchasing an additional 3,344,571 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Boston Scientific by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,584,841 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,469,607,000 after purchasing an additional 480,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Boston Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $1,762,522,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Boston Scientific Trading Down 1.5 %

Boston Scientific stock opened at $99.29 on Monday. Boston Scientific Co. has a 12-month low of $66.80 and a 12-month high of $107.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.86 billion, a PE ratio of 79.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.05. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 11.07%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 1,201 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total transaction of $127,678.31. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,704,845.33. This trade represents a 4.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 17,313 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.80, for a total transaction of $1,762,463.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $560,103.60. The trade was a 75.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 137,302 shares of company stock worth $14,319,269. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BSX. Raymond James increased their target price on Boston Scientific from $119.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Boston Scientific in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Argus set a $130.00 price objective on Boston Scientific in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.91.

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.