Empirical Finance LLC Grows Position in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG)

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,106 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $5,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the second quarter worth $26,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 140.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 60 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, LGT Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 415.4% during the 2nd quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 67 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Intuitive Surgical

In related news, SVP Henry L. Charlton sold 40,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.84, for a total value of $19,591,902.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,001 shares in the company, valued at $1,461,006.84. This represents a 93.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Desantis sold 188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $482.21, for a total transaction of $90,655.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,655,048.26. The trade was a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 91,178 shares of company stock valued at $45,897,071 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Intuitive Surgical Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ISRG opened at $538.00 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $496.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $455.65. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a twelve month low of $295.02 and a twelve month high of $544.38. The company has a market capitalization of $191.62 billion, a PE ratio of 86.46, a P/E/G ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 1.39.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.32. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.51% and a return on equity of 13.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI reiterated a “cautious” rating on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Intuitive Surgical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $510.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $475.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $525.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $466.00 to $549.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Intuitive Surgical currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $513.74.

Intuitive Surgical 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.