Intuitive Surgical, Inc. $ISRG Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

Key Points

• KBC Group NV reduced its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 8.5% in the first quarter, selling 35,565 shares and leaving it with 385,028 shares valued at about $177.5 million.
• Intuitive Surgical recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $2.50 versus $2.08 expected and revenue of $2.77 billion, up 23% year over year.
• Despite the strong results, the stock has been under pressure and analysts remain mixed: the consensus rating is still Moderate Buy, with a consensus price target of $523.46.

KBC Group NV cut its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 385,028 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 35,565 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.11% of Intuitive Surgical worth $177,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True North Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 18.1% during the first quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 2,385 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,100,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in Intuitive Surgical in the first quarter worth about $68,326,000. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Intuitive Surgical by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,040,320 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $479,577,000 after buying an additional 57,920 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Intuitive Surgical by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 529 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Intuitive Surgical in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,963,000. 83.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Performance

Shares of Intuitive Surgical stock opened at $345.42 on Monday. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 52 week low of $344.55 and a 52 week high of $603.88. The stock has a market cap of $122.33 billion, a PE ratio of 39.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.46. The company's 50-day moving average price is $415.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $467.12.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical equipment provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.45% and a return on equity of 17.09%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ISRG. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Intuitive Surgical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Mizuho set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $653.00 to $604.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $750.00 to $685.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $560.00 to $515.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $523.46.

More Intuitive Surgical News

Here are the key news stories impacting Intuitive Surgical this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Intuitive Surgical reported stronger-than-expected Q2 revenue and earnings, helped by solid demand for its da Vinci robotic surgery systems and continued adoption of its products. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: The company still reported healthy procedure growth overall, with worldwide procedures rising and placements of robotic systems remaining strong, which supports the long-term investment case. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts lowered price targets after the report, but most kept bullish ratings such as overweight, buy, or outperform, suggesting Wall Street still sees meaningful upside despite the near-term pullback. Benzinga article
• Negative Sentiment: Management did not raise its forecast for procedure growth, and investors reacted badly to slower U.S. procedure growth and a cautious full-year outlook. Benzinga article
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters also noted concerns that changes to some insurance plans could reduce demand, adding to worries about slower U.S. growth and a softer near-term procedure trajectory. Reuters article

Insider Activity at Intuitive Surgical

In other Intuitive Surgical news, Director Amy L. Ladd sold 119 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.50, for a total value of $55,156.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,620. The trade was a 49.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $424.14, for a total value of $169,656.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,720 shares in the company, valued at $2,426,080.80. This represents a 6.54% decrease in their position. 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 a total of 7,169 shares of company stock valued at $3,059,135 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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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