Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,878 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,620 shares during the quarter. Tesla makes up about 1.3% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Tesla were worth $19,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Umpqua Bank acquired a new position in Tesla during the fourth quarter worth $209,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Tesla by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,201 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $1,293,000 after buying an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. Intellus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Tesla during the fourth quarter worth $343,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,035,288 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $418,092,000 after purchasing an additional 203,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,222,078 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $2,916,564,000 after purchasing an additional 276,814 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Trading Up 5.3 %

Shares of TSLA opened at $248.71 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $335.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $319.68. The company has a market capitalization of $799.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 121.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. 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 announced its 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total value of $41,163,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,802. This trade represents a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total transaction of $13,189,513.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 477,011 shares in the company, valued at $114,859,478.69. This represents a 10.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 477,228 shares of company stock valued at $166,849,043. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TSLA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Roth Mkm upgraded shares of Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $85.00 to $380.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Tesla from $259.00 to $225.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Glj Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Tesla from $492.00 to $474.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Tesla from $440.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Tesla presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $318.93.

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.