Principal Securities Inc. Has $11.25 Million Stake in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Principal Securities Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 31.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,858 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after selling 12,993 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Tesla were worth $11,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Tesla by 1,248.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Destination Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Tesla by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 12,597 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $3,296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its position in shares of Tesla by 126.7% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 1,594 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Tesla by 59.2% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in Tesla by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 309,382 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $80,944,000 after buying an additional 9,919 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Tesla Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TSLA opened at $360.56 on Thursday. Tesla, Inc. has a 52-week low of $138.80 and a 52-week high of $488.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $403.41 and a 200 day moving average of $311.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 176.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, research analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on TSLA shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark started coverage on Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $475.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Tesla from $351.00 to $373.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Tesla from $195.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $326.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tesla news, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.06, for a total transaction of $39,792,803.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 85,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,095,100. This represents a 56.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.54, for a total transaction of $35,254,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,903,716. The trade was a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 523,386 shares of company stock worth $195,995,200. Corporate insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Company 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.