Howard Capital Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG)

Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,293 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $5,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ISRG. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,050,121 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $7,393,673,000 after buying an additional 210,363 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,971,085 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $5,389,765,000 after acquiring an additional 838,793 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,512,925 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,677,194,000 after acquiring an additional 143,440 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,782,381 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,349,441,000 after acquiring an additional 86,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 3,848,547 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,890,676,000 after acquiring an additional 24,183 shares in the last quarter. 83.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ISRG shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $525.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley raised Intuitive Surgical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $522.00 to $650.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $640.00 to $711.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Erste Group Bank raised Intuitive Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $611.00 to $641.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $613.10.

Insider Transactions at Intuitive Surgical

In related news, EVP Myriam Curet sold 408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.75, for a total value of $240,618.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,181.75. This trade represents a 53.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 4,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $566.60, for a total transaction of $2,626,191.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,275 shares in the company, valued at $6,955,015. This represents a 27.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,348 shares of company stock valued at $3,587,582 in the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Down 2.4 %

ISRG stock opened at $591.79 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $565.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $525.06. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 52-week low of $364.17 and a 52-week high of $616.00. The firm has a market cap of $210.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.32, a PEG ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 1.39.

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.