A Huge Pension Sold Apple and AT&T Stock. It Bought Starbucks and One Chinese Tech Stock. - Barron's

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Royal Dutch Shell’s pension cut investments in Apple and AT&T stock in the second quarter, and bought Starbucks stock and Alibaba ADRs.

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Royal Dutch Shell’s pension made some big changes in its U.S.-traded investments in the second quarter.

Shell Asset Management Company B.V. cut positions in Apple (ticker: AAPL) and AT&T (T) stock in the second quarter, while buying more Starbucks (SBUX) and Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) securities. Samco, as the pension manager is known, disclosed the trades, among others, in a form it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Samco, which managed total assets of $36 billion at the end of 2019, didn’t respond to a request for comment on the transactions.

The pension manager sold 84,177 Apple shares in the second quarter to end June with 496,546 shares of the iPhone maker.

Apple stock is up nearly 57% so far this year through Friday’s close, including a 26% surge in the third quarter to date. By comparison, the S&P 500 index, a measure of the broader market, has managed to gain 4.4% year to date, including an 8.8% rise so far in the third quarter.

Strong earnings and the declaration of a four-for-one stock split sent shares soaring at the end of July. New iPhone models are apparently launching sometime in October. Meanwhile, Apple’s market capitalization is approaching $2 trillion.

Samco sold 353,813 AT&T shares to end the second quarter with 751,957 shares of the telecom and media giant.

AT&T stock sports a year-to-date loss of 23.2% although it has been essentially flat so far in the third quarter.

The company’s second-quarter report was mixed, as AT&T launched its 5G wireless network. A director recently scooped up AT&T stock. AT&T’s HBO Max streaming unit recently ousted the top leadership.

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Shell’s pension bought 37,481 additional Starbucks shares, raising its investment in the cafe chain to 241,515 shares at the end of June.

Starbucks stock is down about 11% so far this year, but that includes a 6.5% gain in July and August.

Starbucks’ fiscal-third-quarter loss was narrower than expected, although one analyst has noted that Dunkin’ Brands Group (DNKN) may be better positioned as the socially distant economy persists.

Samco bought another 109,950 American depositary shares of Alibaba, ending June with 715,156 ADRs of the Chinese online giant.

Alibaba ADRs have a year-to-date gain of 19.7%, including a 17.7% rise so far in the third quarter.

At least one observer recently said Alibaba ADRs were a “great buy” in early July. The Trump administration has been applying pressure to Chinese internet companies, squeezing Alibaba, among others. One overhang on the ADRs is a potential delisting in the U.S. as trade tensions flare.

Inside Scoop is a regular Barron’s feature covering stock transactions by corporate executives and board members—so-called insiders—as well as large shareholders, politicians, and other prominent figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock trades with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups.

Write to Ed Lin at edward.lin@barrons.com and follow @BarronsEdLin.

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A Huge Pension Sold Apple and AT&T Stock. It Bought Starbucks and One Chinese Tech Stock. - Barron's
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