Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust Acquires Shares of 14,864 Intuitive Surgical, Inc. $ISRG

Key Points

• Retail Employees Superannuation Trust opened a new position in Intuitive Surgical, buying 14,864 shares worth about $8.4 million. The stake makes ISRG its 19th-largest holding and represents 2.3% of the portfolio.
• Intuitive Surgical’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $2.50 versus $2.08 expected and revenue of $2.77 billion versus $2.62 billion expected. Revenue rose 23% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 8.57.
• Despite strong fundamentals, the stock has been under pressure, recently trading near $418.55 versus a 52-week high of $603.88. Wall Street remains largely constructive, with an average Moderate Buy rating and a consensus target price of $576.71.

Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 14,864 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,418,000. Intuitive Surgical comprises 2.3% of Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ISRG. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Intuitive Surgical by 1,043.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,342,121 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $760,124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,734 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 106.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,533,771 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $868,667,000 after acquiring an additional 791,516 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 29.7% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 3,227,472 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,451,362,000 after acquiring an additional 739,444 shares during the period. Sands Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 77.0% in the third quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 1,341,109 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $599,784,000 after acquiring an additional 583,539 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 41.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,941,310 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $868,212,000 after acquiring an additional 567,483 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.64% of the company's stock.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

ISRG stock opened at $418.55 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $148.23 billion, a PE ratio of 50.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.51. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 12 month low of $414.30 and a 12 month high of $603.88. The firm's 50-day moving average is $455.79 and its 200 day moving average is $507.97.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical equipment provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The firm's revenue was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $574.00 target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $575.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Intuitive Surgical from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Intuitive Surgical from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Intuitive Surgical from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $590.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $576.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Gary Loeb sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $446.95, for a total value of $178,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,735,334. This trade represents a 6.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark Brosius sold 2,362 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.68, for a total transaction of $1,177,882.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,554 shares in the company, valued at $1,772,308.72. This trade represents a 39.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 5,701 shares of company stock worth $2,783,807 over the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Intuitive Surgical Profile

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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