AMF Tjanstepension AB Boosts Stock Holdings in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. $ISRG

Key Points

• AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its Intuitive Surgical stake by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 16,758 shares and bringing its total holdings to 212,396 shares worth about $120.3 million.
• Intuitive Surgical posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.50 versus the $2.08 estimate and revenue of $2.77 billion, up 23% year over year.
• Analysts remain mostly constructive on ISRG, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $579.33, even as insiders recently sold some shares.

AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 212,396 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 16,758 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB owned 0.06% of Intuitive Surgical worth $120,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,599,661 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $15,026,776,000 after buying an additional 263,828 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 1.5% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 7,728,492 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $3,456,223,000 after purchasing an additional 116,034 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 1.1% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,889,439 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,739,475,000 after purchasing an additional 40,702 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 29.7% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 3,227,472 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,451,362,000 after purchasing an additional 739,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,209,137 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,817,527,000 after purchasing an additional 321,759 shares in the last quarter. 83.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Performance

ISRG opened at $439.92 on Tuesday. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a one year low of $417.74 and a one year high of $603.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.80 billion, a PE ratio of 53.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.51. The business's 50 day moving average price is $462.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $513.03.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical equipment provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.42. Intuitive Surgical had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 28.15%.The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Intuitive Surgical

In other Intuitive Surgical news, Director Amy L. Ladd sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.46, for a total transaction of $236,730.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 239 shares in the company, valued at $113,156.94. This represents a 67.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Gary Loeb sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $446.95, for a total value of $178,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,120 shares in the company, valued at $2,735,334. This trade represents a 6.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 5,647 shares of company stock valued at $2,760,359 over the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ISRG. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $574.00 price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $740.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup upgraded Intuitive Surgical from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $590.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $609.00 to $621.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $650.00 to $520.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $579.33.

About Intuitive Surgical

Intuitive Surgical, founded in 1995 and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, is a medical technology company focused on the design, manufacture and service of robotic-assisted surgical systems. The company is best known for its da Vinci surgical systems, which enable minimally invasive procedures by translating a surgeon's hand movements into finer, scaled motions of small instruments inside the patient. Intuitive's business centers on supplying hospitals and surgical centers with systems, instruments and related technologies that aim to improve precision, visualization and control in the operating room.

In addition to its core surgical platforms, Intuitive markets a portfolio of reusable and disposable instruments, accessories, and proprietary software, and provides training, servicing and clinical support to its customers.

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