Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,784,601 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after buying an additional 134,208 shares during the quarter. Tesla makes up 0.8% of Principal Financial Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Tesla worth $1,528,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TSLA. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Tesla by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,098,717 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $287,457,000 after purchasing an additional 29,669 shares during the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC acquired a new position in Tesla during the third quarter worth about $262,000. Wallington Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Tesla during the third quarter worth about $280,000. RAM Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. RAM Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,108 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McAdam LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 7,232 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $1,892,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America cut Tesla from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $400.00 to $490.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Tesla from $195.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Tesla from $515.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Tesla from $492.00 to $474.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm upgraded Tesla from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $380.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $326.50.

Tesla Stock Down 4.7 %

Tesla stock traded down $16.60 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $337.80. 73,720,762 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 75,434,742. The company has a market cap of $1.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 165.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.97 and a beta of 2.34. The company's fifty day moving average price is $402.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $311.43. 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 fifty-two week low of $138.80 and a fifty-two week high of $488.54.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) 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, research analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In related news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.06, for a total value of $39,792,803.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 85,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,095,100. This trade represents a 56.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.54, for a total value of $35,254,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,903,716. This represents a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 523,386 shares of company stock worth $195,995,200. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Tesla 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.