Leelyn Smith LLC Has $4.67 Million Stake in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Leelyn Smith LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,561 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the quarter. Tesla makes up about 0.8% of Leelyn Smith LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in Tesla were worth $4,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 1,248.9% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 199,229 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $52,124,000 after acquiring an additional 184,459 shares during the period. Destination Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Tesla by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 12,597 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $3,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake in Tesla by 126.7% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 1,594 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Tesla by 59.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 117,457 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $30,593,000 after buying an additional 43,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 3.3% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 309,382 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $80,944,000 after buying an additional 9,919 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on TSLA. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $404.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Tesla from $490.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Tesla from $259.00 to $225.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cowen upgraded Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.00.

Tesla Stock Performance

Shares of Tesla stock opened at $238.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $765.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 116.67, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. Tesla, Inc. has a twelve month low of $138.80 and a twelve month high of $488.54. The company’s fifty day moving average is $347.85 and its 200 day moving average is $320.53. 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 quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,802. The trade was a 94.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 477,228 shares of company stock worth $166,849,043. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.