Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lowered its position in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 192,846 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,944 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $19,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,861 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC raised its position in Boston Scientific by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 8,740 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Boston Scientific by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 6,331 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in Boston Scientific by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 7,474 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paladin Wealth LLC boosted its position in Boston Scientific by 1.6% during the first quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC now owns 7,156 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $722,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. 89.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Boston Scientific Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:BSX opened at $98.43 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.74, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.68. 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 Co. has a one year low of $71.88 and a one year high of $107.17. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.62.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.57 billion. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 11.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BSX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Boston Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Boston Scientific presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.00.

Insider Activity at Boston Scientific

In other news, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 4,572 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.54, for a total transaction of $477,956.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,955,420.70. This represents a 19.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 17,314 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.06, for a total value of $1,767,066.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,269,304.10. The trade was a 43.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 411,970 shares of company stock valued at $42,406,693 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.