Benjamin Edwards Inc. Lowers Position in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. has decreased its stake in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. by 58.3%, selling 7,525 shares and bringing their total to 5,388 shares valued at approximately $2.67 million.
• In the first quarter, institutional investors such as Chilton Capital Management LLC and Global Financial Private Client LLC significantly increased their stakes in Intuitive Surgical, reflecting a strong interest in the company among hedge funds.
• Intuitive Surgical reported strong Q2 earnings with an EPS of $2.19, outperforming analysts' estimates, and a revenue increase of 21.4% year-over-year, totaling $2.44 billion.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG - Free Report) by 58.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,388 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 7,525 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $2,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Intuitive Surgical by 54,010.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,028,576 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $14,999,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,022,979 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 25.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Intuitive Surgical by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,819,666 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,396,496,000 after buying an additional 584,375 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in 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 buying an additional 494,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Intuitive Surgical by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,665,531 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $16,178,258,000 after buying an additional 453,335 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.64% of the company's stock.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Performance

ISRG traded up $2.58 during trading on Friday, reaching $479.66. The stock had a trading volume of 919,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,992,181. The stock has a market cap of $171.95 billion, a PE ratio of 66.85, a PEG ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.59. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a one year low of $425.00 and a one year high of $616.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $510.29 and a 200-day moving average of $526.13.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported $2.19 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 business had revenue of $2.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 6.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on ISRG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Intuitive Surgical from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $515.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $650.00 target price (up from $590.00) on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $547.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $590.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $684.00 to $635.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $595.95.

Insider Transactions at Intuitive Surgical

In other news, EVP Myriam Curet sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $173,845.44. This represents a 92.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark Brosius sold 216 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.11, for a total transaction of $121,631.76. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 907 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $510,740.77. This represents a 19.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,839 shares of company stock worth $7,896,972. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

About Intuitive Surgical

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.