Simplicity Wealth LLC Lowers Stake in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Simplicity Wealth LLC cut its position in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 24.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,218 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after selling 5,915 shares during the quarter. Tesla makes up 1.5% of Simplicity Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Tesla were worth $7,357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $52,124,000 after buying an additional 184,459 shares in the last quarter. Destination Wealth Management increased its stake in Tesla by 12.1% during the third quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 12,597 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $3,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in Tesla by 126.7% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Tesla by 59.2% during the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 117,457 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $30,593,000 after acquiring an additional 43,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 9,919 shares during the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tesla news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total transaction of $41,163,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at $2,222,802. This trade represents a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $413.56, for a total value of $2,894,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,063,565.40. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 422,452 shares of company stock worth $153,659,530. Insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Price Performance

Shares of TSLA opened at $262.67 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $844.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.76, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. Tesla, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $138.80 and a fifty-two week high of $488.54. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $367.78 and its 200-day moving average is $319.38.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TSLA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Tesla from a “moderate sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Tesla from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Tesla from $270.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated a “top pick” rating and issued a $430.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Tesla currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $327.37.

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.