Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 1,909 Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 138,102 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after selling 1,909 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Tesla were worth $55,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA bought a new stake in Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Tesla during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other Tesla news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,672 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.73, for a total value 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. The trade was a 9.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total transaction of $41,163,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,222,802. This represents a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 422,452 shares of company stock worth $153,659,530. Insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on TSLA. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “cautious” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Roth Capital upgraded Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Benchmark assumed coverage on Tesla in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $475.00 target price for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Tesla has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $327.37.

Tesla Stock Performance

NASDAQ TSLA opened at $262.67 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $367.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $319.38. Tesla, Inc. has a 12-month low of $138.80 and a 12-month high of $488.54. The firm has a market cap of $844.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.76, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share 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, equities analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current 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.