Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. by 10.9% during the first quarter, now owning 781,986 shares valued at approximately $387 million.
• Multiple analysts have set new price targets for Intuitive Surgical, with Citigroup upgrading its target to $650 and UBS Group revising it to $585, reflecting a generally positive outlook.
• Insiders sold a total of 15,903 shares over the past 90 days, indicating potential shifts in confidence among company executives despite analysts rating it as a "Moderate Buy."

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG - Free Report) by 10.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 781,986 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 77,051 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.22% of Intuitive Surgical worth $387,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ISRG. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Intuitive Surgical by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,672 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,916,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 190,969 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $99,678,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Intuitive Surgical in the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 42,232 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $22,043,000 after buying an additional 2,713 shares during the period. Finally, APG Asset Management US Inc. bought a new stake in Intuitive Surgical during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,833,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ISRG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $547.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $650.00 price objective (up previously from $590.00) on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $605.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $600.00 to $575.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $595.95.

Intuitive Surgical Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ ISRG opened at $474.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $169.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.12, a PEG ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.59. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 12 month low of $425.00 and a 12 month high of $616.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $519.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $531.12.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported $2.19 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 6.43 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Myriam Curet sold 4,500 shares of Intuitive Surgical 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 $173,845.44. The trade was a 92.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Gary S. Guthart sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 18,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,171,844.80. This represents a 13.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,903 shares of company stock worth $7,932,778. Corporate 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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