Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 538,284 Shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. $ISRG

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,559,933 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 538,284 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $1,449,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ISRG. Riversedge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Intuitive Surgical by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 901 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 920 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 0.5% during the third quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 4,033 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,804,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC now owns 485 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, WoodTrust Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 4,180 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,367,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. 83.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Intuitive Surgical Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ISRG opened at $422.06 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $447.24 and a 200 day moving average of $500.70. The company has a market cap of $149.48 billion, a PE ratio of 51.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.46. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 12-month low of $396.68 and a 12-month high of $603.88.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical equipment provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.42. Intuitive Surgical had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 28.15%.The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on ISRG shares. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $650.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $615.00 to $577.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $570.00 to $550.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $575.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho set a $525.00 target price on Intuitive Surgical and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $573.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Amy L. Ladd sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.46, for a total transaction of $236,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,156.94. This represents a 67.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Iman Jeddi sold 5,625 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.55, for a total value of $2,365,593.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 6,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,718,014.65. This represents a 46.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,803 shares of company stock valued at $2,911,573. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Intuitive Surgical

Intuitive Surgical, founded in 1995 and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, is a medical technology company focused on the design, manufacture and service of robotic-assisted surgical systems. The company is best known for its da Vinci surgical systems, which enable minimally invasive procedures by translating a surgeon’s hand movements into finer, scaled motions of small instruments inside the patient. Intuitive’s business centers on supplying hospitals and surgical centers with systems, instruments and related technologies that aim to improve precision, visualization and control in the operating room.

In addition to its core surgical platforms, Intuitive markets a portfolio of reusable and disposable instruments, accessories, and proprietary software, and provides training, servicing and clinical support to its customers.