OTPP increases ag related holdings

Jun 11, 2018

The pension fund purchased more shares in DowDuPont and Zoetis

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

The group representing the retirement interests of Ontario’s elementary and secondary teachers is expanding its agricultural portfolio.

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (OTPP) made its first purchase of DowDuPont stocks.

OTPP bought 299,254 shares of the company, valued at more than $19 million, according to Holdings Channel.

Ontario’s teachers also increased their ownership of Tyson Foods.

OTPP bought 56,588 shares of the company. That number is on top of the 79,537 Tyson Foods shares OTPP previously owned.

In total, OTPP increased its holdings in Tyson Foods by 246.6 per cent and is valued at $5.82 million, the Securities and Exchange Commission reported.

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board has also almost doubled its ownership of a veterinary vaccine manufacturer.

The OTPP purchased an additional 124,785 shares of Zoetis during the first quarter of 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission said. Combined with the 253,363 Zoetis shares the OTPP previously owned, that represents an increase of 97.1 per cent.

OTPP now owns more than $21 million worth of Zoetis shares.

The teachers’ pension board also made investments into ag equipment related companies.

The organization bought 14,440 additional shares of Cummins Inc., which manufacturers engines that can be found in some farm machinery.

Those shares are in addition to the 43,001 shares the OTPP previously purchased. In total, the pension board owns $6.97 million worth of Cummins stocks.

The OTPP made another ag related investment earlier in the year.

In February, the investment fund increased its shares in Monsanto by 1.8 per cent, bringing its total stake in the company to nearly $60 million.

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