Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Sold by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. decreased its holdings in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 9.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,000 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after selling 2,988 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Tesla were worth $7,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Tesla in the 4th quarter worth about $56,600,000. Means Investment CO. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 37.7% during the first quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 23,089 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $5,984,000 after acquiring an additional 6,323 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 3.1% during the first quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 22,467 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $5,823,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 133.7% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Harvard Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,158,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on TSLA shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Tesla from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 target price (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday. Roth Mkm reduced their target price on Tesla from $450.00 to $395.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $410.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas set a $137.00 price target on Tesla and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $298.37.

Tesla Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:TSLA opened at $323.63 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock's fifty day moving average is $314.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $329.21. Tesla, Inc. has a 52 week low of $182.00 and a 52 week high of $488.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 177.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 2.47.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.26). Tesla had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 6.66%. The firm had revenue of $19.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ira Matthew Ehrenpreis sold 477,572 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 now directly owns 855,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $305,632,276.20. This trade represents a 35.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $682,500. The trade was a 33.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 833,509 shares of company stock worth $278,648,925. Corporate insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TSLA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.