Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Boosts Position in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,551 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,660 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $81,713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 89,098.8% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 949,967 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $495,845,000 after acquiring an additional 948,902 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical in the fourth quarter valued at about $313,769,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 15,322.2% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 555,661 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $272,980,000 after purchasing an additional 552,058 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 1.1% during the 4th 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. Finally, GQG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 1,145,300 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $597,801,000 after purchasing an additional 341,812 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ISRG shares. CICC Research started coverage on Intuitive Surgical in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $550.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $707.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $490.00 to $530.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $630.00 to $687.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $611.86.

Insider Activity

In other Intuitive Surgical news, EVP Robert Desantis sold 11,545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.22, for a total value of $5,763,494.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,224 shares in the company, valued at $2,607,925.28. This represents a 68.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Edward Miller sold 8,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $485.07, for a total transaction of $4,317,123.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,793,033.06. This trade represents a 60.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,754 shares of company stock valued at $17,691,621. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Performance

NASDAQ ISRG opened at $507.90 on Friday. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a one year low of $364.17 and a one year high of $616.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $558.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $532.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.24, a PEG ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 1.43.

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.