Ascent Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 12.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,901 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Tesla were worth $1,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Apexium Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Tesla by 736.8% during the fourth quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 24,954 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $6,201,000 after buying an additional 21,972 shares during the last quarter. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Tesla by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,940 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 21,772 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $5,410,000 after purchasing an additional 3,582 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Tesla by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 46,414 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $11,533,000 after purchasing an additional 6,615 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Tesla by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,978 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $1,734,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.86, for a total transaction of $17,322,306.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,772,900. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 93,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.86, for a total transaction of $17,322,306.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,772,900. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 66,364 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.96, for a total transaction of $14,597,425.44. Following the transaction, the director now owns 85,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,696,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 160,719 shares of company stock valued at $32,032,968. Company insiders own 25.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered shares of Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $147.00 to $197.00 in a report on Friday, July 12th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $265.00 target price on the stock. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. New Street Research cut Tesla from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, HSBC lifted their target price on Tesla from $120.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.30.

Tesla Stock Performance

Shares of Tesla stock traded up $12.30 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $232.10. The company had a trading volume of 128,904,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 101,382,844. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.62. The stock has a market cap of $741.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.09, a PEG ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 2.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Tesla, Inc. has a 12-month low of $138.80 and a 12-month high of $278.98.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.10). Tesla had a return on equity of 10.41% and a net margin of 13.00%. The company had revenue of $25.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.