Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stock Position in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 69.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,710,535 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,752,361 shares during the quarter. Tesla comprises about 0.8% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.21% of Tesla worth $2,709,982,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Tesla by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,650,393 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $955,052,000 after buying an additional 194,796 shares during the last quarter. United Bank bought a new stake in Tesla during the third quarter worth approximately $287,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $687,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,208 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the period. Finally, Kitching Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $201,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Price Performance

NASDAQ TSLA opened at $263.55 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $321.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $323.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $847.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 129.19, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.61 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 $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 the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. Analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total value of $13,189,513.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 477,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,859,478.69. This represents a 10.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 477,228 shares of company stock worth $166,849,043 over the last 90 days. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TSLA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $404.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Tesla from $259.00 to $225.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Tesla from $515.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Cowen upgraded Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, New Street Research upgraded Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $318.34.

Tesla Company Profile

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.