Natixis Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Tesla, Inc. by 9.0%, selling 145,814 shares and owning 1,482,966 shares afterward, which is worth approximately $384 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on Tesla, with ratings ranging from sell to strong buy, and an average target price of $303.31.
• In recent insider activity, Director Ira Matthew Ehrenpreis sold 477,572 shares for over $170 million, reflecting a significant decrease in ownership.

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,482,966 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after selling 145,814 shares during the period. Tesla makes up about 0.7% of Natixis Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Tesla were worth $384,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wooster Corthell Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Tesla by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Wooster Corthell Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,244 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $1,100,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC raised its position in Tesla by 101.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 815 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its stake in Tesla by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $740,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. First National Trust Co boosted its position in Tesla by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 45,487 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $11,788,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank boosted its holdings in Tesla by 3.9% during the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 73,703 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $19,101,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785 shares during the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $410.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a report on Friday, June 6th. William Blair downgraded Tesla from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Cfra Research downgraded Tesla from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $303.31.

Tesla Price Performance

TSLA traded down $2.16 on Wednesday, reaching $319.04. The stock had a trading volume of 83,592,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 92,156,024. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 184.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 2.39. Tesla, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $182.00 and a fifty-two week high of $488.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $323.61 and a 200-day moving average of $313.14.

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

Insider Activity

In other Tesla news, Director Kimbal Musk sold 91,588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $357.39, for a total transaction of $32,732,635.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,463,220 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $522,940,195.80. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ira Matthew Ehrenpreis sold 477,572 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $357.30, for a total value of $170,636,475.60. Following the sale, the director owned 855,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $305,632,276.20. The trade was a 35.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 723,119 shares of company stock worth $247,324,149. 20.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.