UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lessened its stake in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,996 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after selling 120 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Tesla were worth $2,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TSLA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Tesla from $492.00 to $474.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “cautious” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Tesla from $270.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Tesla from $500.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $318.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 54,776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.79, for a total value of $13,189,513.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 477,011 shares in the company, valued at $114,859,478.69. The trade was a 10.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total value of $41,163,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at $2,222,802. This trade represents a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 477,228 shares of company stock worth $166,849,043 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of Tesla stock opened at $287.95 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $330.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $322.04. The stock has a market cap of $926.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.15, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50. Tesla, Inc. has a 12-month low of $138.80 and a 12-month high of $488.54.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 7.26%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.