Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG - Free Report) by 49.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,664 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,213 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $3,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 140.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 60 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Intuitive Surgical by 80.0% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 81 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.64% of the company's stock.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

NASDAQ:ISRG traded up $8.56 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $592.64. 2,630,118 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,158,623. The company has a market capitalization of $211.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day moving average of $540.66 and a 200 day moving average of $499.64. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 1-year low of $362.14 and a 1-year high of $597.68.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.56 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Robert Desantis sold 188 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $506.52, for a total transaction of $95,225.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,788,899.12. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jamie Samath sold 108 shares of Intuitive Surgical 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,746,819.42. This represents a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,190 shares of company stock worth $25,012,927 in the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $570.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $604.00 target price on Intuitive Surgical in a report on Friday, October 18th. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $489.00 to $502.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $503.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $549.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Intuitive Surgical presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $554.17.

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.