Ascent Group LLC Raises Holdings in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG)

Ascent Group LLC grew its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) by 76.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,451 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,353 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $2,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirador Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 1.4% during the third quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 3,526 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp grew its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 17.4% during the third quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 8,099 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 617.1% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 89,069 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $39,622,000 after purchasing an additional 76,649 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,052,800 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $517,209,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ABLE Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the third quarter worth about $604,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.64% of the company’s stock.

Intuitive Surgical Trading Up 0.2 %

ISRG stock opened at $542.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $510.03 and a 200-day moving average of $469.49. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 12-month low of $304.50 and a 12-month high of $552.00. The company has a market cap of $193.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.28, a PEG ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.38.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.32. Intuitive Surgical had a return on equity of 13.41% and a net margin of 28.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ISRG. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $525.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Leerink Partners raised their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $489.00 to $502.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $495.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Mizuho raised their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $440.00 to $500.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $512.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $536.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary S. Guthart sold 18,151 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.63, for a total transaction of $9,286,596.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,219 shares in the company, valued at $12,391,166.97. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Amy L. Ladd sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.28, for a total value of $220,626.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $402,519.88. This trade represents a 35.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 51,023 shares of company stock worth $26,384,247 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.