Sit Investment Associates Inc. Increases Stake in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. $ISRG

Key Points

• Sit Investment Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 15.5%, acquiring 2,694 additional shares, which brings their total to 20,089 shares valued at nearly $9.95 million.
• In the last quarter, Intuitive Surgical reported earnings per share of $2.19, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.93, with a revenue of $2.44 billion, a 21.4% increase year-over-year.
• Analyst ratings for Intuitive Surgical are mostly positive, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and consensus price target of $595.95, but there are mixed signals with one analyst downgrading the stock to a "sell" rating.

Sit Investment Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG - Free Report) by 15.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,089 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,694 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.'s holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $9,949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ISRG. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Intuitive Surgical during the first quarter worth about $1,715,899,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 54,010.7% in the first 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 last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,381,302 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,764,904,000 after buying an additional 687,906 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 26.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,819,666 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,396,496,000 after buying an additional 584,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,619,293 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,889,126,000 after buying an additional 494,496 shares during the last quarter. 83.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Myriam Curet sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 owned 353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $173,845.44. This represents a 92.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark Brosius sold 216 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.11, for a total transaction of $121,631.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 907 shares of the company's stock, valued at $510,740.77. This trade represents a 19.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,839 shares of company stock worth $7,896,972. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Performance

Shares of ISRG traded up $3.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $480.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,436,064 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,169,233. The firm has a market cap of $172.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.98, a PEG ratio of 5.03 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $508.75 and a 200 day moving average of $524.77.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 6.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ISRG. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $600.00 to $575.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $559.00 to $599.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $470.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $605.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Intuitive Surgical currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $595.95.

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.