Tufton Capital Management Sells 50 Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Tufton Capital Management trimmed its position in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,666 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Tesla were worth $673,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TSLA. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Tesla by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $544,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Advisors MI raised its position in shares of Tesla by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 6,990 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Tesla by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 2,814 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Tesla by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,305 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,950,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Vista Finance LLC raised its position in shares of Tesla by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Tesla Stock Up 4.0 %

Tesla stock opened at $293.33 on Monday. 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 quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $385.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $317.51. The company has a market capitalization of $943.49 billion, a PE ratio of 143.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.34.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last posted its 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%. Research analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on TSLA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Tesla from $295.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $475.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Tesla from $298.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Tesla from $195.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $318.77.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In related news, Director Kimbal Musk sold 75,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.87, for a total value of $27,590,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,463,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $538,274,741.40. This trade represents a 4.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.21, for a total transaction of $975,191.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,775,792.65. This represents a 2.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 403,996 shares of company stock worth $153,721,387. Insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

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.