Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Grows Stake in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its stake in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,801 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,427 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Tesla were worth $8,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla in the third quarter worth $29,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla in the third quarter worth $35,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 130.2% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 122 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Stock Performance

NASDAQ TSLA opened at $262.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $844.88 billion, a PE ratio of 128.76, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $367.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $318.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Tesla, Inc. has a 1-year low of $138.80 and a 1-year high of $488.54.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. On average, research analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TSLA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Phillip Securities downgraded Tesla from a “moderate sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Roth Capital raised Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Benchmark initiated coverage on Tesla in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $475.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Tesla from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “top pick” rating and set a $430.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Tesla presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $327.37.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.04, for a total transaction of $43,162,255.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 85,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,643,400. This trade represents a 56.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total value of $41,163,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,222,802. This represents a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 422,452 shares of company stock valued at $153,659,530 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

About Tesla

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.