Giant Pension Bought Tesla, Pfizer, and Starbucks Stock. It Sold Nike.

The pension didn’t respond to a request for comment on the investment changes. As of June 30, 2021, it managed $98.1 billion in total assets.

STRS Ohio bought 27,136 Tesla shares to end the first quarter with 304,334 shares of the electric-vehicle giant. The stock managed a 2% rise in the first quarter compared with a 5% drop in the

S&P 500 index. So far in the second quarter, shares are down 19% while the index has dropped 9%.

The stock slipped last week on the day CEO
Elon Musk
 reached an agreement to acquire the social media company

Twitter

(TWTR). Because he has financing, it doesn’t look as if Musk will sell Tesla stock to finance the bid, but Tesla investors appear to be worried he will. Making use of the platform shortly before reaching the pact, Musk tweeted an allegation that

Microsoft

(MSFT) co-founder
Bill Gates
was making bets Tesla stock would fall. In late April, Tesla’s first-quarter report topped estimates. Musk sold a large amount of Tesla stock last week.

STRS Ohio bought 359,823 Pfizer shares in the first quarter to lift its holdings to 2.4 million shares of the pharmaceutical giant. The stock slid 12% in the first quarter; so far in the second, it is down 5%.

We’ve noted that the most likely scenario for Covid could be a pandemic that is largely manageable through antivirals such as Pfizer ‘s (ticker: PFE) Paxlovid. The company recently named a new chief financial officer, David Denton, formerly CFO at hardware retail chain Lowe’s (LOW) and pharmacy chain

CVS Health

(CVS).

Starbucks also saw a recent management change, with
Howard Schultz
coming out of retirement in April for his third tour as CEO. Shares of the coffee chain continue to lag. They are down 18% so far in the second quarter, following a 22% drop in the first.

Starbucks halted stock buybacks the day Schultz returned. In a meeting with store leaders, he said the days were over of making “every single decision based on the stock price for the quarter.” Meanwhile, Starbucks workers have formed unions at a growing number of locations.

STRS Ohio bought 176,619 more Starbucks shares to end the first quarter with 577,104 shares.

The pension also sold 246,320 Nike shares to cut its investment to 755,809 shares of the footwear and apparel giant. The stock tumbled 19% in the first quarter; so far in the second, it has slipped 7%.

Strong fiscal-third-quarter earnings, reported in March, gave Nike stock some lift. In April, J.P. Morgan saw Nike’s China-related headwinds easing, and noted that improvement in the global-supply chain will also benefit the company.

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.