ING Groep NV Acquires 163,817 Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Key Points

• ING Groep NV increased its holdings in Tesla, Inc. by 33.8% in the first quarter, bringing its total to 647,847 shares valued at approximately $167.9 million.
• Several institutional investors, including True Wealth Design LLC and Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC, have significantly increased their positions in Tesla, with some holdings rising by over 79%.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Tesla’s stock, with a consensus target price of $303.31 and ratings ranging from sell to strong buy.

ING Groep NV lifted its stake in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 33.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 647,847 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after purchasing an additional 163,817 shares during the quarter. Tesla comprises approximately 1.2% of ING Groep NV's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. ING Groep NV's holdings in Tesla were worth $167,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rinkey Investments raised its holdings in Tesla by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Rinkey Investments now owns 860 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Tesla by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. raised its stake in Tesla by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 1,174 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Tesla by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,901 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Management Associates Inc raised its stake in Tesla by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital Management Associates Inc now owns 1,166 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on TSLA. Daiwa Capital Markets reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Sunday, July 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Tesla from $425.00 to $355.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Glj Research restated a "sell" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $475.00 price objective (up from $350.00) on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Tesla from $303.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $303.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total value of $4,857,150.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 67,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,889,556. This represents a 18.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,777,200. This trade represents a 25.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 606,724 shares of company stock valued at $215,376,831. Company insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Tesla Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TSLA traded down $1.65 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $307.61. 22,769,085 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 107,105,594. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.55. Tesla, Inc. has a 1 year low of $191.48 and a 1 year high of $488.54. The company has a market capitalization of $992.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 177.78, a PEG ratio of 10.63 and a beta of 2.33. The company's 50-day moving average is $321.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $309.49.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.03). Tesla had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 6.54%. The firm had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.