Howard Financial Services LTD. Increases Position in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG)

Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its holdings in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 870 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ISRG. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,672 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,916,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,509,000. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 484 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 96.6% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 94.2% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 534 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.64% of the company’s stock.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

ISRG stock opened at $555.75 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $515.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $538.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.19 billion, a PE ratio of 86.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 1.70. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 1 year low of $396.48 and a 1 year high of $616.00.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Intuitive Surgical had a return on equity of 14.55% and a net margin of 27.81%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 6.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Myriam Curet sold 3,031 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.30, for a total value of $1,749,796.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,786.90. This represents a 89.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jami K. Nachtsheim sold 2,400 shares of the company’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. This trade represents a 27.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 30,111 shares of company stock worth $15,364,055. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on ISRG shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $600.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays cut their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $684.00 to $635.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $630.00 to $605.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $510.00 to $470.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Intuitive Surgical from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $596.05.

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.