Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Boosts Stake in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. $ISRG

Key Points

• Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC increased its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 8.4%, owning 42,601 shares valued at approximately $23.15 million, making it the company's 25th largest position.
• Intuitive Surgical's shares are currently valued at $452.35, with a market cap of $162.16 billion, and recent earnings reported $2.19 EPS, surpassing estimates.
• Major institutional investors, including Goldman Sachs and Vanguard, have significantly increased their positions, suggesting strong institutional confidence in the company's future.

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC increased its position in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG - Free Report) by 8.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,601 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 3,302 shares during the period. Intuitive Surgical accounts for about 1.4% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC's holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $23,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Intuitive Surgical during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,715,899,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Intuitive Surgical by 26.1% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 584,375 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Intuitive Surgical by 20.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,393,951 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,680,922,000 after purchasing an additional 566,979 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Intuitive Surgical by 15.0% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,499,052 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,732,975,000 after purchasing an additional 457,080 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Intuitive Surgical by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,665,531 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $16,178,258,000 after purchasing an additional 453,335 shares during the period. 83.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:ISRG opened at $452.35 on Friday. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 52-week low of $425.00 and a 52-week high of $616.00. The stock has a market cap of $162.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.61. The business's 50 day moving average is $463.55 and its 200 day moving average is $500.00.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.26. Intuitive Surgical had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 28.51%.The company 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. Intuitive Surgical's revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 6.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ISRG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded Intuitive Surgical from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $590.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $615.00 price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $571.00 target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Wednesday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Intuitive Surgical currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $594.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Amy L. Ladd sold 336 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $470.11, for a total value of $157,956.96. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,074 shares of the company's stock, valued at $504,898.14. This represents a 23.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Gary S. Guthart sold 29,360 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,368,059.23. This trade represents a 59.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,224 shares of company stock valued at $21,716,492 over the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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