AMP Capital Investors (New Zealand) has sold down its stake in Telecom to below 5 per cent, taking advantage of a stock price trading around its highest levels in four years.
The Wellington-based fund manager, one of New Zealand's largest, sold 18.9 million shares of Telecom between April 1 and July 7, reducing its stake to about 4.9 per cent from 5.7 per cent.
Shares of Telecom, which spun off its Chorus network company in November, fell 0.9 per cent to $2.56 and have climbed 22 per cent this year. They traded as high as $2.75 on May 10, the highest since August 2008.
The stock is rated a 'hold' based on the consensus of 10 analyst recommendations compiled by Reuters with a price target of $2.33. The stock has a dividend yield of 11.6 per cent.
Analysts say the company may face more intense competition from Vodafone, which this week agreed to acquire Telstra's local TelstraClear unit, giving it about 25 per cent of the fixed-line market and increasing is dominance in mobile calling.
