Bank of Nova Scotia Grows Holdings in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 48.2%, now owning approximately 0.08% of the company, valued at around $137.7 million.
• Institutional investors control about 83.64% of Intuitive Surgical's stock, with GAMMA Investing LLC significantly boosting its stake by 54,010.7%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Intuitive Surgical, with one sell rating, five hold ratings, and fifteen buy ratings, leading to an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG - Free Report) by 48.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 278,136 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 90,513 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.08% of Intuitive Surgical worth $137,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Intuitive Surgical by 54,010.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,028,576 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $14,999,630,000 after acquiring an additional 3,022,979 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Intuitive Surgical by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,381,302 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,764,904,000 after acquiring an additional 687,906 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,619,293 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,889,126,000 after purchasing an additional 494,496 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the fourth quarter worth approximately $167,943,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,826,972 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,475,566,000 after purchasing an additional 319,694 shares during the period. 83.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ISRG. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Intuitive Surgical from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $515.00 to $440.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Intuitive Surgical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $650.00 price target (up from $590.00) on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $592.05.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

ISRG stock opened at $483.12 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $524.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $533.35. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 12 month low of $425.00 and a 12 month high of $616.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.19 billion, a PE ratio of 67.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 1.60.

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

Insider Activity at Intuitive Surgical

In other news, insider Gary S. Guthart sold 2,800 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $495.24, for a total transaction of $1,386,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 18,520 shares in the company, valued at $9,171,844.80. The trade was a 13.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Myriam Curet sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $492.48, for a total transaction of $2,216,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 353 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $173,845.44. This represents a 92.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,903 shares of company stock valued at $7,932,778 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Intuitive Surgical Company 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.

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