Hilltop Partners LLC Trims Stake in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Hilltop Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,917 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after selling 134 shares during the period. Tesla makes up 1.0% of Hilltop Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Hilltop Partners LLC’s holdings in Tesla were worth $2,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB grew its position in Tesla by 2.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,098,717 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $287,457,000 after acquiring an additional 29,669 shares in the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Tesla in the third quarter worth $225,000. Hills Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Tesla in the third quarter worth $137,000. Americana Partners LLC grew its position in Tesla by 15.8% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 3,589 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $939,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CacheTech Inc. grew its position in Tesla by 24.5% in the third quarter. CacheTech Inc. now owns 3,283 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $859,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In other news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.54, for a total transaction of $35,254,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,903,716. This represents a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.06, for a total transaction of $39,792,803.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 85,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,095,100. The trade was a 56.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 523,386 shares of company stock valued at $195,995,200. Corporate insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TSLA opened at $293.33 on Friday. Tesla, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $138.80 and a fifty-two week high of $488.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $385.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $316.70. The company has a market capitalization of $943.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.79, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. Analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Tesla from $492.00 to $474.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Tesla from $315.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $475.00 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Tesla from $298.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Tesla from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $400.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $318.77.

Tesla Company Profile

Tesla, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, leases, and sells electric vehicles, and energy generation and storage systems in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Automotive, and Energy Generation and Storage. The Automotive segment offers electric vehicles, as well as sells automotive regulatory credits; and non-warranty after-sales vehicle, used vehicles, body shop and parts, supercharging, retail merchandise, and vehicle insurance services.