One of the biggest public pensions in the U.S. recently made major changes in its largest investments.
In the third quarter, the New York State Teachers' Retirement System initiated positions in Palantir Technologies and Dell Technologies, trimming holdings of Walmart and T-Mobile US. NYSTRS disclosed the stock trades, among others, in a form it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
NYSTRS said it doesn't comment on individual holdings. It manages more than $130 billion, landing it among the top 10 public pensions in the U.S. by assets, according to Pensions & Investments.
It's not surprising that NYSTRS began buying shares of the data-analytics firm Palantir and Dell, the computer maker, because both were added to the S&P 500 in early September. Many funds and investors seek to track the index, so they buy stocks that are added. The pension bought 1.5 million Palantir shares and 244,920 Dell shares in the third quarter. It had none of either at the end of June.
Palantir stock rocketed 117% in the first nine months of the year, while Dell stock gained 55%, and the S&P 500 rose 21%. So far in the fourth quarter, Palantir shares are up 57%, Dell shares are up 13%, and the index is up 4%.
Palantir reported a strong third quarter and raised its financial forecasts in the past week, while Dell's latest quarterly results, disclosed in late August, were upbeat.
Walmart's second-quarter earnings, also reported in August, topped expectations. Barron's recently noted that over the past 11 years, under CEO Doug McMillon, Walmart stock has soared 231% versus a 225% gain for the S&P 500.
Walmart stock gained 54% in the first nine months of 2024. So far in the fourth quarter, shares are up 5%.
NYSTRS sold 236,790 Walmart shares to lower its investment to 4 million shares at the end of the third quarter. The pension sold 41,300 T-Mobile shares in the third quarter to end the period with 443,460 shares.
The communications firm reported strong earnings in its latest quarter. T-Mobile said in September it will partner with OpenAI to build an artificial-intelligence platform, called IntentCX. The platform will harvest data on customer interactions from subscribers who use T-Mobile's T-Life app, which combines services such as bill management, and smartwatch integration.
T-Mobile stock rose 29% in the first nine months of 2024. So far in the fourth quarter, shares are up 14%.
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