Hills Bank & Trust Co Buys 1,391 Shares of Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

Key Points

• Hills Bank & Trust Co more than doubled its Tesla position in the fourth quarter, buying 1,391 additional shares to bring its total to 2,590 shares worth about $1.165 million.
• Insider selling continued at Tesla, with CFO Vaibhav Taneja and Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson both selling shares in recent transactions; insiders have sold 83,213 shares over the last three months.
• Analysts remain mixed on Tesla, with the stock carrying an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $395.20, while recent news has been a mix of expansion plans and operational/legal concerns.

Hills Bank & Trust Co boosted its stake in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 116.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,590 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares during the quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co's holdings in Tesla were worth $1,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Tesla by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 87,929 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $35,509,000 after acquiring an additional 9,293 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Tesla by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,317 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $2,147,000 after acquiring an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Tesla by 52.2% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 10,368 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $4,187,000 after acquiring an additional 3,558 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Tesla by 9.1% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,135 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $3,855,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGP Franklin LLC increased its holdings in shares of Tesla by 21.2% in the second quarter. AGP Franklin LLC now owns 4,861 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $1,544,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In other news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,350,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,147,700. This trade represents a 14.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 26,409 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.11, for a total value of $9,985,506.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 48,399 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,300,145.89. The trade was a 35.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 83,213 shares of company stock valued at $32,201,105 over the last three months. Insiders own 19.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Tesla from $352.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $508.00 price objective on Tesla in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane raised Tesla from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Tesla from $540.00 to $480.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $395.20.

Tesla News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tesla is moving ahead with a $250 million investment in its Berlin Gigafactory, which could expand battery output, add jobs, and support future European production growth. Tesla to Invest $250 Million in Berlin Gigafactory
• Positive Sentiment: New Tesla-linked ETFs are being launched to provide weekly income while still retaining some upside exposure to TSLA, reflecting continued investor demand for the stock. These New Nvidia And Tesla ETFs Want To Deliver Weekly Income Without Fully Sacrificing Upside
• Neutral Sentiment: Elon Musk’s China trip kept Tesla in the spotlight, but the meeting produced no major breakthrough on Full Self-Driving approval or trade terms that investors were hoping for. Tesla Stock Slumps After Trump’s China Trip Ends Without “Material Agreements”
• Neutral Sentiment: Tesla is starting work on a Cybercab car wash in Nevada, signaling progress on robotaxi-related infrastructure, though the project is still early-stage. Tesla (TSLA) to Build Cybercab Car Wash in Nevada as Robotaxi Plans Take Shape
• Negative Sentiment: Robotaxi concerns are intensifying after reports of long wait times, navigation issues, and crashes, reinforcing doubts about Tesla’s timeline for autonomous driving monetization. Tesla robotaxi rollout features long wait times, safety concerns
• Negative Sentiment: An Australian judge sharply criticized Tesla in a class-action case, warning the company could have “a really bad time” if it does not cooperate on document production, adding legal overhang. Australian judge criticises Tesla for 'gobsmacking' slow progress in class action lawsuit

Tesla Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TSLA opened at $422.24 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $386.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $418.28. Tesla, Inc. has a 52 week low of $273.21 and a 52 week high of $498.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 2.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 387.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.65 and a beta of 1.79.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. Tesla had a return on equity of 4.89% and a net margin of 3.95%.The firm had revenue of $22.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tesla Company Profile

Tesla, Inc NASDAQ: TSLA is an American company that designs, manufactures and sells electric vehicles, energy generation and energy storage products. Founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, Tesla grew into a vertically integrated mobility and clean‑energy company with Elon Musk serving as its chief executive officer. The company's stated mission is to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy, reflected in its combined focus on electric drivetrains, battery technology, renewable energy products and software.

Tesla's automotive business includes a lineup of battery‑electric vehicles and related services.

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