Baird Financial Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Baird Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 453,113 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after selling 24,010 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Tesla were worth $182,985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of TSLA. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Tesla during the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,600,000. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its position in shares of Tesla by 126.7% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 1,594 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 383.1% in the 4th quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 8,314 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $3,358,000 after acquiring an additional 6,593 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 133.7% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. now owns 2,847 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Finally, Harvard Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in Tesla during the fourth quarter worth $8,158,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,672 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.73, for a total transaction of $718,046.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 26,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,242,273.50. This trade represents a 9.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robyn M. Denholm sold 112,390 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.58, for a total transaction of $32,096,336.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 85,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,274,300. This trade represents a 56.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 367,228 shares of company stock valued at $110,043,434. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Tesla Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TSLA traded down $6.95 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $280.26. 94,292,405 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 95,855,513. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $258.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $326.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $902.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 137.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Tesla, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.41 and a 12 month high of $488.54.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $19.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.93 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TSLA. Glj Research reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $19.05 price objective (down previously from $24.86) on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, April 21st. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Tesla from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Argus set a $410.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $287.46.

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.