Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) by 1.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,430,615 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 83,699 shares during the period. Intuitive Surgical comprises 0.6% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $2,161,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 3,411.1% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 316 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Intuitive Surgical in the second quarter valued at approximately $394,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 29.3% in the second quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 622 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 1,676 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,506 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $670,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 83.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Intuitive Surgical news, CEO Gary S. Guthart sold 18,151 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.63, for a total value of $9,286,596.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,391,166.97. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jamie Samath sold 108 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $542.06, for a total transaction of $58,542.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,746,819.42. This trade represents a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,190 shares of company stock valued at $25,012,927. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ISRG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $604.00 price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a report on Friday, October 18th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Intuitive Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley raised Intuitive Surgical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $522.00 to $650.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $503.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Intuitive Surgical currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.28.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

Shares of ISRG opened at $544.72 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $520.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $477.52. The stock has a market cap of $194.02 billion, a PE ratio of 87.58, a P/E/G ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 1.38. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 1-year low of $320.22 and a 1-year high of $556.23.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.