On September 18, 2023, it was reported that AE Wealth Management LLC has increased its stake in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) by 14.6% during the second quarter of the year. The institutional investor now owns 30,969 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, after acquiring an additional 3,944 shares within the quarter. At the end of the most recent reporting period, AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Intuitive Surgical were valued at $10,590,000.
In related news, EVP Robert Desantis conducted a transaction on July 25th, selling 2,535 shares of the company’s stock at an average price of $323.26 per share. This resulted in a total value of $819,464.10 from the sale. Following this transaction, Desantis now directly possesses 7,259 shares in Intuitive Surgical with a value equating to $2,3461,544.34 as disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), accessible through their website.
This is not Mr. Desantis’ only involvement in share sales as he also sold 2,535 shares on July 25th at a similar average price and a total value of $819,464.10. Consequently, after this sale took place and barring any further transactions that may have occurred following this disclosure date for SEC filings up until September 18th (the reference date for this article), Desantis possessed 7,259 shares equivalent to a value of $2,”3461,”544″.34.
Additionally, CEO Gary S. Guthart sold off 50,”314″ shares of Intuitive Surgical’s stock on July “28TH”, amounting to an average price of $326.”76″. The total worth attributable to this sale stood at approximately $16,”440″602.”64″. Following this sale, Guthart is now in possession of 17,”186″ shares in the company with a value of approximately $5,”615″697.”36″.
The disclosed information reveals that insiders have sold 60,309 shares of Intuitive Surgical’s stock within the last three months. These transactions accumulated a total worth of $19,”649″321. As per this data, company insiders hold 0.90% of the stock.
Please note that this article is based on available information up until September 18th, 2023.
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Intuitive Surgical’s Stock Sees Increase in Institutional Investor Positions and Positive Analyst Ratings
In recent months, there have been notable changes in the positions held by large institutional investors in Intuitive Surgical, a leading medical equipment provider. Fragasso Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Intuitive Surgical during the second quarter, with the acquisition valued at $201,000. CVA Family Office LLC also increased its position in the company by 44.7% during the same period and now owns 541 shares worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares. Moody National Bank Trust Division saw a 0.8% boost in its position with Intuitive Surgical when it purchased an additional 72 shares, now valuing their ownership at $2,954,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc., on the other hand, experienced a slight increase of 0.7% and currently owns 37,124 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock worth $12,694,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares.
Independence Bank of Kentucky took part in this trend as well with its new stake worth $120,000 being acquired during the second quarter. It is important to note that these institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own approximately 82.91% of Intuitive Surgical’s stock.
A number of brokerages have offered their comments and insights on Intuitive Surgical’s performance. Sanford C. Bernstein praised the company and lifted its price target from $350 to $365 in a research report released on May 31st. Barclays also expressed optimism over Intuitive Surgical and increased their price objective from $314 to $385 while giving the company an “overweight” rating on July 24th.
StockNews.com voiced their positive sentiments towards Intuitive Surgical as well when they initiated coverage with a “buy” rating on August 17th. Raymond James continued this optimism by lifting its price objective from $323 to $368 and assigning an “outperform” rating to the company on July 24th. Truist Financial further augmented the positive sentiment by raising Intuitive Surgical’s price target from $347 to $400 on July 19th.
Overall, out of a total of twenty-one equities research analysts, five have rated Intuitive Surgical stock as “hold” while sixteen assigned it a “buy” rating. According to Bloomberg.com, the consensus among these analysts is a “Moderate Buy” rating for Intuitive Surgical with an average price target of $343.10.
On Monday, shares of Intuitive Surgical opened at $295.54. The company currently boasts a market capitalization of $103.85 billion and has a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 74.07 along with a PEG ratio (price-to-earnings growth) of 4.25. The company also exhibits a beta value of 1.30.
Intuitive Surgical’s stock performance over the past year indicates that it has traded within the range of $180.07 to $358.07, with the current market price being closer to its high point.
The most recent earnings update for Intuitive Surgical was released on Thursday, July 20th. The medical equipment provider reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.42 for the quarter, surpassing analysts’ consensus estimate by $0.09 per share which was expected to be at $1.33. Furthermore, Intuitive Surgical achieved a return on equity (ROE) rate of 12.41% and maintained an impressive net margin of 21.38%. The company recorded revenue amounting to $1.76 billion during the quarter, surpassing initial expectations set at$1.74 billion by industry analysts.
Comparing this performance to the previous year’s figures shows significant growth as the company’s quarterly revenue increased by 15.% YoY (year-over-year). Industry experts predict that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will likely achieve an EPS of 4.53 for the current fiscal year.
In conclusion, Intuitive Surgical has experienced notable changes in its shareholder base with several institutional investors and hedge funds increasing their positions in the company. Analysts have commented positively on its performance and most have assigned a “buy” rating to the stock. With strong financial results reported in its previous quarter, Intuitive Surgical continues to demonstrate its ability to provide innovative medical equipment solutions in the market.
