Motley Fool Wealth Management Increases Tesla Holdings

In the fourth quarter, Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC significantly increased its investment in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 88.5% as reported in its latest Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. After acquiring an additional 1,681 shares during this period, the fund's total holdings in Tesla reached 3,581 shares, which were valued at approximately $1,431,000 at the end of the reporting period.

Changes in Institutional Holdings

Along with Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC, other institutional investors and hedge funds have also adjusted their positions in Tesla. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC made a noteworthy increase of 36,790.0% in their stake, giving them ownership of 8,660,672 shares worth about $3.5 billion after adding 8,637,195 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings by 55,181.0%, resulting in ownership of 4,382,674 shares valued at around $1.77 billion. Similarly, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its investment by 194.7%, acquiring an extra 3,624,910 shares to reach a total of 5,486,739 shares worth $2.22 billion. Vanguard Group Inc. also raised its stake by 1.5%, bringing its total to 243,193,181 shares valued at around $98.21 billion. Additionally, UBS AM, a subsidiary of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC, increased its holdings by 13.7%, resulting in ownership of 24,377,822 shares worth approximately $6.38 billion. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds control 66.20% of Tesla’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In related news, Tesla's CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,672 shares at an average price of $268.73 on March 6, resulting in a transaction value of $718,046.56. Following this sale, Taneja holds 26,950 shares valued at about $7.24 million, indicating a 9.02% reduction in his ownership. In another transaction, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares on February 3 for an average price of $384.04, amounting to $43.16 million. After this sale, Denholm retains 85,000 shares valued at approximately $32.64 million, marking a 56.94% decrease in her position. Over the past three months, corporate insiders have sold 477,228 shares worth $166.85 million, while corporate insiders collectively own 20.70% of Tesla’s stock.

Analysts Adjust Price Targets

Analysts have recently changed their price targets for Tesla. Guggenheim lowered its price target from $175 to $170 and rated the stock as a "sell". Conversely, Deutsche Bank increased its target from $295 to $370, assigning it a "buy" rating. Royal Bank of Canada adjusted its price target downwards from $440 to $320 while keeping an "outperform" rating. UBS Group also reduced its target from $259 to $225 and rated it as a "sell". Finally, JPMorgan Chase lowered its target from $135 to $120 and rated Tesla as "underweight". In total, nine analysts have rated Tesla’s stock as a sell, eight as hold, twenty-one as buy, and one as strong buy, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $318.93.

Tesla's Stock Performance

As of Thursday, Tesla shares opened at $272.06. The company has a market capitalization of $875.09 billion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 133.36 and a PEG ratio of 5.86. Tesla’s stock has seen a 12 month low of $138.80 and a high of $488.54. The company maintains a fifty-day simple moving average of $327.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $321.69. Financially, Tesla has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.61, and a low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

In its latest earnings report on January 29, Tesla reported earnings of $0.66 per share, falling short of the expected consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.08. The company’s net margin stands at 7.26% with a return on equity of 10.31%. Predictions suggest that Tesla will post an EPS of 2.56 for the current fiscal year.

Tesla Overview

Tesla, Inc. specializes in the design, development, manufacture, leasing, and sale of electric vehicles and energy-related systems across the globe. The company operates mainly through two segments: Automotive and Energy Generation and Storage.

Tesla, Investment, Financial