ING Groep NV Increases Position in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

ING Groep NV increased its position in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 119.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 484,030 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 263,837 shares during the period. Tesla accounts for approximately 1.3% of ING Groep NV’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Tesla were worth $195,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TSLA. Hengehold Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Tesla by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI increased its position in shares of Tesla by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 6,990 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,823,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 2,814 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Tesla by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,305 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,950,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Finance LLC increased its position in Tesla by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Price Performance

Tesla stock opened at $337.80 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 165.59, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.34. Tesla, Inc. has a 52 week low of $138.80 and a 52 week high of $488.54. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $400.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $314.04. 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 (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TSLA has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. New Street Research raised Tesla from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Tesla from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $400.00 to $490.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $319.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.43, for a total transaction of $2,481,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 105,032 shares in the company, valued at $37,226,491.76. The trade was a 6.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kimbal Musk sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.87, for a total transaction of $27,590,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,463,220 shares in the company, valued at $538,274,741.40. The trade was a 4.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 523,386 shares of company stock valued at $195,995,200. Corporate insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Company 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.