Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 5,593 Shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its stake in shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 212,631 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,593 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $12,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BSX. PDS Planning Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,964 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. Aspire Private Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 7,885 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,798,511 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $219,592,000 after acquiring an additional 112,222 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,227,833 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $70,981,000 after acquiring an additional 15,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $366,000. Institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 16,351 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.30, for a total transaction of $1,133,124.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,509,213.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Wendy Carruthers sold 6,983 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.89, for a total transaction of $467,092.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,779,820.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 16,351 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.30, for a total transaction of $1,133,124.30. Following the sale, 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 have sold 50,979 shares of company stock worth $3,418,529. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Boston Scientific Price Performance

Shares of Boston Scientific stock traded up $0.80 on Tuesday, hitting $68.82. 3,831,922 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,356,959. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.07. 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 company has a market cap of $100.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.78. Boston Scientific Co. has a 12-month low of $48.35 and a 12-month high of $69.21.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 11.19% and a return on equity of 15.99%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. Analysts expect that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BSX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Argus increased their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $69.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Boston Scientific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.50.

Boston Scientific 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.