1,282 Shares in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. $ISRG Bought by Clark Capital Management Group Inc.

Key Points

• Clark Capital Management Group Inc. acquired 1,282 shares of Intuitive Surgical, valued at approximately $635,000, in the first quarter, increasing its institutional ownership to 83.64% of the company's stock.
• Intuitive Surgical reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.19 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, with a year-over-year revenue growth of 21.4% to $2.44 billion.
• Wall Street analysts have generally rated Intuitive Surgical as a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $595.95, indicating a positive outlook on the stock.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,282 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $635,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Castleark Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 90,469 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $47,221,000 after purchasing an additional 2,990 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 34.5% in the first quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 745 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 37.4% during the first quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 727 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Intuitive Surgical by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,509 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,243,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Longbow Finance SA increased its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 132.0% in the 1st quarter. Longbow Finance SA now owns 19,699 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $9,756,000 after acquiring an additional 11,209 shares during the period. 83.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ISRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $559.00 to $599.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $615.00 price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Intuitive Surgical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $470.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $595.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Gary S. Guthart sold 29,360 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $472.49, for a total value of $13,872,306.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,368,059.23. This represents a 59.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Amy L. Ladd sold 335 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $440.69, for a total value of $147,631.15. Following the sale, the director directly owned 739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $325,669.91. This represents a 31.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,224 shares of company stock valued at $21,716,492 over the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Intuitive Surgical stock traded up $5.87 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $455.85. The company had a trading volume of 2,180,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,100,207. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $487.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $509.57. The stock has a market cap of $163.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.58, a PEG ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 1.61. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 12-month low of $425.00 and a 12-month high of $616.00.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $2.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.51% and a return on equity of 14.56%. Intuitive Surgical's revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 6.43 EPS for the current year.

Intuitive Surgical Profile

Intuitive Surgical, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets products that enable physicians and healthcare providers to enhance the quality of and access to minimally invasive care in the United States and internationally. The company offers the da Vinci Surgical System that enables complex surgery using a minimally invasive approach; and Ion endoluminal system, which extends its commercial offerings beyond surgery into diagnostic procedures enabling minimally invasive biopsies in the lung.