Twin Capital Management Inc. Acquires 969 Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Twin Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,489 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the period. Tesla accounts for 1.8% of Twin Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Tesla were worth $16,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Tesla by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,650,393 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $955,052,000 after buying an additional 194,796 shares during the period. United Bank acquired a new position in shares of Tesla during the third quarter worth about $287,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Tesla by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 66,870 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $17,495,000 after purchasing an additional 3,222 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in Tesla in the third quarter worth $357,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Tesla during the third quarter worth about $250,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Stock Down 10.4 %

Tesla stock opened at $239.43 on Monday. Tesla, Inc. has a 52 week low of $138.80 and a 52 week high of $488.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $305.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $324.24. The stock has a market cap of $770.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 117.37, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its quarterly 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%. On average, analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on TSLA. StockNews.com downgraded Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Tesla from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $475.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Tesla from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Tesla from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $312.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total transaction of $13,189,513.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 477,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,859,478.69. This trade represents a 10.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,672 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.73, for a total transaction of $718,046.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 26,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,242,273.50. This trade represents a 9.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 370,228 shares of company stock worth $122,791,123. Insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Tesla 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.