Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 97,293 Shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its position in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG - Free Report) by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 178,161 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 97,293 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.05% of Intuitive Surgical worth $87,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Intuitive Surgical during the third quarter worth about $103,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 1.3% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 13,085 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $6,427,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 1.1% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,572 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,264,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Destination Wealth Management raised its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 4.1% in the third quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 770 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Intuitive Surgical by 15,322.2% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 555,661 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $272,980,000 after purchasing an additional 552,058 shares during the last quarter. 83.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ISRG. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Intuitive Surgical from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $522.00 to $650.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $604.00 price target on Intuitive Surgical in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Intuitive Surgical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Intuitive Surgical from $525.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Intuitive Surgical presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $550.28.

Intuitive Surgical Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of ISRG stock traded down $5.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $539.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,071,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,439,538. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a one year low of $320.26 and a one year high of $556.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 1.38. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $520.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $477.52.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.32. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.51% and a return on equity of 13.41%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Intuitive Surgical

In other news, EVP Brian Edward Miller sold 2,553 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $515.00, for a total transaction of $1,314,795.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,638,990. The trade was a 26.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark Brosius sold 2,128 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $515.00, for a total transaction of $1,095,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $140,595. The trade was a 88.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,190 shares of company stock worth $25,012,927 over the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.