Tennessee’s Department of Treasury, which is responsible for the state’s retirement system, sold GE, Starbucks, and McDonald’s stock in the second quarter. It also significantly raised holdings in Advanced Micro Devices stock.
Sebastien Bozon/AFP via Getty ImagesTennessee’s Department of Treasury made material investment changes in the second quarter, the most bullish such period in decades for stocks.
The treasury oversees more than $75 billion of the state’s investments, and the state’s pension, the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System, is the largest component. The pension, which had net assets of $52.1 billion as of June 30, 2019, is one of the best in the country, from a funding standpoint. A study by the Pew Charitable Trusts using 2017 data showed that Tennessee’s pension was 96.5% funded—that is, short just 3.5 cents for every dollar of liability. It was one of the three best-funded pensions, the study found. The average state pension was 31 cents short.
The treasury cut positions in General Electric (ticker: GE), Starbucks (SBUX), and McDonald’s stock (MCD) in the second quarter, and bought more shares of chip giant Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). The agency disclosed the trades in a form it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The agency declined to comment on its stock trades.
Tennessee’s treasury sold 1.2 million GE shares in the second quarter to end June with 1.8 million shares of the embattled conglomerate.
GE stock has lost two-fifths of its market value year to date through Friday’s close, including a 5.5% drop in the third quarter so far. By comparison, the S&P 500 index, a broad measure of the market, is up 5.8% year to date, and up 11.5% so far in the third quarter.
Recently, big GE stock investor Trian has been selling stock. The company’s latest earnings report wasn’t inspiring on the face of it, but cash-management “was great,” we noted. We also wondered if the market was fully appreciating the company’s work on developing Covid-19 treatments.
The agency sold 253,018 Starbucks shares, cutting its investment to 630,168 shares of the coffee chain.
Editor's Choice
Starbucks stock has gained 4.7% so far in the third quarter, but it remains 12.3% in the red for the year to date. Shares had plunged 25% in the first quarter as the coronavirus pandemic roiled markets.
Starbucks reported a fiscal-third-quarter report in July that was better than expected, and the company also raised guidance. Earlier that month, Starbucks began to require customers of company-owned locations to wear masks.
Tennessee’s treasury sold 65,511 McDonald’s shares to end June with 425,497 shares of the burger chain.
McDonald’s stock sports a year-to-date gain of 7.1%, bolstered by a 14.7% gain in the third quarter so far.
McDonald’s is currently attempting to claw back severance payments from former CEO Steve Easterbrook. The company reported second-quarter earnings late in July that came up short of Wall Street expectations. The average sale rose in value, but there were fewer customers.
The agency bought 145,636 AMD shares in the second quarter, raising its investment to 819,242 shares.
AMD stock has had a boffo third quarter so far, rocketing 59.3%, lifting the year-to-date gain to 82.8%.
AMD’s latest surge comes as chief rival Intel (INTC) has stumbled, admitting it was having production issues in late July. AMD could be set to take even more market share from Intel.
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.
"sold" - Google News
August 22, 2020 at 08:26AM
https://ift.tt/2FQVuTj
A Top Pension Manager Sold GE, Starbucks, and McDonald’s Stock. It Bought This Chip Stock. - Barron's
"sold" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3d9iyrC
https://ift.tt/3b37xGF
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "A Top Pension Manager Sold GE, Starbucks, and McDonald’s Stock. It Bought This Chip Stock. - Barron's"
Post a Comment