Employees Retirement System of Texas Has $172.43 Million Stake in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 20.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 426,983 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 73,340 shares during the period. Tesla accounts for 0.8% of Employees Retirement System of Texas’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Tesla were worth $172,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 5.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. United Bank bought a new stake in Tesla during the 3rd quarter worth about $287,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Tesla by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 66,870 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $17,495,000 after buying an additional 3,222 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Tesla in the third quarter worth about $357,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Tesla in the third quarter valued at approximately $250,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Tesla Stock Performance

Shares of TSLA opened at $239.43 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $770.13 billion, a PE ratio of 117.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $305.98 and a 200-day moving average of $324.24. Tesla, Inc. has a one year low of $138.80 and a one year 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.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.04, for a total value of $43,162,255.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 85,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,643,400. This represents a 56.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $383.11, for a total value of $2,681,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,745,581.15. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 370,228 shares of company stock valued at $122,791,123 over the last ninety days. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $404.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Tesla from $500.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Tesla from $165.00 to $130.00 and set a “reduce” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Tesla from $440.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $312.65.

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.