Royal Bank of Canada Raises Stake in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG)

Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,450,561 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,148 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $757,136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ISRG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,212,196 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $16,813,478,000 after purchasing an additional 360,591 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,756,727 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,039,200,000 after acquiring an additional 243,802 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,868,869 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,541,356,000 after acquiring an additional 86,488 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Intuitive Surgical during the fourth quarter valued at $2,401,493,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,148,180 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,165,184,000 after acquiring an additional 295,025 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded Intuitive Surgical from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $510.00 to $470.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $575.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $560.00 target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $598.95.

Insider Transactions at Intuitive Surgical

In other Intuitive Surgical news, EVP Robert Desantis sold 188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $515.91, for a total transaction of $96,991.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,224 shares in the company, valued at $2,695,113.84. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jami K. Nachtsheim sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $520.00, for a total value of $1,248,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,312,920. The trade was a 27.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,680 shares of company stock worth $16,854,345. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ISRG opened at $560.28 on Friday. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 1 year low of $393.98 and a 1 year high of $616.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $503.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $536.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.81 billion, a PE ratio of 87.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 1.70.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a return on equity of 14.55% and a net margin of 27.81%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 6.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.