Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Has $41.99 Million Stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. decreased its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 243,747 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 1,887 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.23% of First Solar worth $41,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FSLR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in First Solar by 2.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,040,031 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,945,549,000 after acquiring an additional 279,424 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of First Solar by 4.4% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,266,552 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $927,972,000 after purchasing an additional 179,035 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 10.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,283,705 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $369,024,000 after purchasing an additional 211,755 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First Solar by 2.6% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,236,723 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $485,528,000 after purchasing an additional 56,383 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in First Solar by 9.4% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,102,959 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $339,817,000 after buying an additional 181,034 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on FSLR shares. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $269.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $258.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded First Solar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $187.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.68.

First Solar Stock Performance

FSLR stock opened at $175.04 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $161.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.18. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $232.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.74 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.41.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.06. First Solar had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 25.03%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.07) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.55 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.34, for a total value of $37,085.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.34, for a total value of $37,085.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 679 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $108,640.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 14,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,315,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,269,540. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Solar Profile

First Solar, Inc, a solar technology company, provides photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions in the United States, France, Japan, Chile, and internationally. The company manufactures and sells PV solar modules with a thin film semiconductor technology that provides a lower-carbon alternative to conventional crystalline silicon PV solar modules.