Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 5.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,010,441 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 111,724 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $168,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CRA Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 2,841 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its stake in Boston Scientific by 9.7% during the third quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 1,352 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Adero Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 3,617 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 9,968 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $835,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobsen Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 2,820 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Boston Scientific Price Performance

BSX opened at $88.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $130.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.27, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $88.27 and a 200-day moving average of $82.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.48. Boston Scientific Co. has a 1-year low of $54.95 and a 1-year high of $91.93.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.04. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 17.23% and a net margin of 11.26%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. Boston Scientific’s quarterly revenue was up 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Boston Scientific from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Boston Scientific from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.96.

Insider Activity at Boston Scientific

In related news, EVP Wendy Carruthers sold 6,983 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.86, for a total transaction of $585,594.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,748 shares in the company, valued at $2,913,967.28. This represents a 16.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 14,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.27, for a total transaction of $1,250,672.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 978 shares in the company, valued at $87,306.06. This represents a 93.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 328,157 shares of company stock valued at $27,957,676. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.