Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) Shares Acquired by Dalton Investments Inc.

Key Points

• Dalton Investments Inc. increased its stake in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. by 166.7%, acquiring an additional 1,500 shares to hold a total of 2,400 shares, valued at $1,189,000.
• Multiple hedge funds have significantly boosted their stakes in Intuitive Surgical, with Chilton Capital Management raising its stake by 614.3% during the same quarter.
• Intuitive Surgical reported earnings of $2.19 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.93 and reflecting a revenue increase of 21.4% year-over-year.

Dalton Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG - Free Report) by 166.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,400 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. Intuitive Surgical comprises 0.6% of Dalton Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Dalton Investments Inc.'s holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $1,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Intuitive Surgical in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,715,899,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $14,999,630,000 after buying an additional 3,022,979 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 687,906 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $1,396,496,000 after purchasing an additional 584,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $1,889,126,000 after purchasing an additional 494,496 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ISRG shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $684.00 to $635.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $559.00 to $599.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Intuitive Surgical from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $515.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $600.00 to $575.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $595.95.

Insider Activity at Intuitive Surgical

In other Intuitive Surgical news, SVP Mark Brosius sold 216 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.11, for a total value of $121,631.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 907 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $510,740.77. The trade was a 19.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Gary S. Guthart sold 2,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 18,520 shares in the company, valued at $9,171,844.80. The trade was a 13.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,839 shares of company stock valued at $7,896,972 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ISRG traded up $1.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $478.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 755,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,991,184. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 52 week low of $425.00 and a 52 week high of $616.00. The company has a market capitalization of $171.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.78, a P/E/G ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.59. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $510.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $526.13.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.26. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.51% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The business had revenue of $2.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.