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

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One of the largest public pensions in the United States has recently made some major adjustments to its equity investments.

The Ohio State Teacher Retirement System has reduced investments in

Apple

(ticker: AAPL) and

Tesla

(TSLA) in the third quarter, and bought more shares from

General Motors

(GM) and

Alibaba Group Holding

(NANNY). STRS Ohio, as the pension is known, disclosed the deals, among others, 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 trades.

The pension sold 864,478 Apple shares post-split in the third quarter to reduce its position in the iPhone maker to 9.8 million shares on September 30. Apple shares divided by 4 to 1 at the end of August.

Apple’s shares have risen 80% in the year so far through Thursday’s close, including a 14% gain so far in the fourth quarter. By comparison, the

S&P 500 Index,

a measure of the broader market, it has grown 14.6% in the year to date, including 10.1% so far in the fourth quarter.

Apple was spurred by a recent report that demand for its 5G iPhones has been stronger than expected, and an analyst sees stocks continuing to rise in 2021. It is speculated that Apple is actively developing a car, but we are skeptical about the company foray into electric vehicles. Still, we are optimistic about the stock, and Apple is one of our top 10 stock options for next year.

STRS Ohio sold 41,987 Tesla shares after the split in late September, with 316,583 shares in the electric vehicle maker. Tesla shares split 5 to 1 at the end of August.

Tesla’s stock price shot up almost 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, president and chief investment officer at Ritholtz Wealth Management, recently told us: “Tesla has already changed the paradigm. They already won. ”

GM’s shares increased 13.6% in 2020, including a 40.5% increase since the end of September.

GM last month reduced a deal with

Nikola

(NKLA), manufacturer of trucks powered by alternative fuels. We suggest that GM’s stock may continue to rise in 2021 with earnings growth as the economy recovers. GM could even resume paying dividends next year.

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

The pension purchased 46,700 American Depositary Receipts from Alibaba in the quarter, ending September with 205,434 ADRs from the Chinese Internet giant.

Alibaba’s ADRs have gained 4.7% in the year to date, including a drop of 24.5% so far in the fourth quarter.

Alibaba and its peers have been pressured by Chinese regulators about their business practices. In addition, Alibaba’s co-founder Jack Ma himself faced a negative reaction in China. Also weighing on ADRs is a potential delisting in the US

Inside Scoop is a regular feature of Barron that covers 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 share trades with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups.

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