Columbia Asset Management Sells 140 Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Columbia Asset Management lessened its holdings in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,341 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after selling 140 shares during the period. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in Tesla were worth $945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Tesla by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,650,393 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $955,052,000 after purchasing an additional 194,796 shares during the period. United Bank purchased a new stake in Tesla during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $287,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Tesla during the third quarter valued at approximately $687,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 95.6% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 41,766 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $10,927,000 after buying an additional 20,418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Community Bank N.A. boosted its position in shares of Tesla by 4.4% during the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 908 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

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

Tesla Stock Up 3.6 %

NASDAQ:TSLA opened at $268.46 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $863.51 billion, a PE ratio of 131.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $314.87 and a 200 day moving average of $323.48. Tesla, Inc. has a 1-year low of $138.80 and a 1-year high of $488.54.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on TSLA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Tesla from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Glj Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Cowen raised Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Benchmark initiated coverage on Tesla in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $475.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Tesla from $440.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $317.75.

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.