A large fund sold Apple and Tesla shares. Here’s what it bought.

Font size

One of the largest government pensions in the US has recently made some major adjustments to its equity investments.

Ohio’s State Teachers Retirement System is cutting back on investment in

Apple

(ticker: AAPL) and

Tesla

stock (TSLA) in the third quarter, and bought more shares of it

General engines

(GM) and

Alibaba Group Holding

(BABA). STRS Ohio, as the pension is known, disclosed the transactions, among other things, in a form it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

STRS Ohio, which managed $ 80.9 billion in assets on June 30, did not respond to a request for comment on the stock trading.

The pension sold 864,478 Apple shares in the third quarter after the split to reduce its position in the iPhone maker to 9.8 million shares on September 30. Apple Stock Split 4 for August 1.

Apple shares are up 80% so far through Thursday’s close, including a 14% gain so far in the fourth quarter. In comparison: the

S&P 500 index,

a measure of the broader market, is up 14.6% so far, including a 10.1% so far in the fourth quarter.

Apple has been delighted by a recent report that demand for its 5G iPhones is greater than expected, and an analyst sees the stocks continue their rally into 2021. There is speculation that Apple is actively developing a car, but we are skeptical of the company. foray to electric vehicles. Still, we’re bullish on stocks, and Apple is one of our top 10 stock picks for next year.

STRS Ohio sold 41,987 Tesla shares after the split to sell 316,583 shares of the electric vehicle manufacturer in late September. Tesla Stock Split 5 for August 1.

Tesla’s stock price is up nearly 700% in 2020, including a 54.3% increase in the fourth quarter alone.

Tesla joined the S&P 500 earlier this month, the most valuable company ever added to the index. Barry Ritholtz, chairman and chief investment officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management, recently told us, “Tesla has already changed the paradigm. They have already won. ”

GM shares are up 13.6% in 2020, including an increase of 40.5% since the end of September.

GM last month scaled back an agreement with

Nikola

(NKLA), a manufacturer of trucks powered by alternative fuels. We have suggested that GM stocks could continue to rise in 2021 based on earnings growth as the economy recovers. GM could even pay dividends again next year.

STRS Ohio bought an additional 750,442 GM shares in the third quarter, bringing the investment to 2.8 million shares of the auto giant.

The pension bought 46,700 US certificates from Alibaba in the quarter and ended September with 205,434 ADRs from the Chinese internet giant.

Alibaba’s ADRs are up 4.7% so far, including a 24.5% drop so far in the fourth quarter.

Alibaba and colleagues have been pressured by Chinese regulators for their business practices. Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba, has also had to deal with a backlash in China. A possible delisting in the US will also weigh on the side effects

Inside Scoop is a regular part of Barron that covers share transactions by corporate executives and board members – so-called insiders – as well as major shareholders, politicians and other prominent figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock transactions with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups.

Write to Ed Lin at [email protected] and follow @BuienRadarNL.