ClearBridge Investments, an investment management company, released its “ClearBridge Dividend Strategy” first quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The ClearBridge Dividend Strategy proved resilient and delivered positive returns despite a 4.3% decline in the benchmark S&P 500 Index. Despite increased caution over the economy and markets, the firm believes that the portfolio is well-positioned given its focus on valuation and capacity to financially weather the storms and generate steady, strong dividend growth. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.
In its first quarter 2025 investor letter, ClearBridge Dividend Strategy emphasized stocks such as TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL). TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL) manufactures and sells connectivity and sensor solutions. The one-month return of TE Connectivity plc (NYSE:TEL) was -14.57%, and its shares lost 16.48% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On April 7, 2025, TE Connectivity plc (NYSE:TEL) stock closed at $123.50 per share with a market capitalization of $36.847 billion.
ClearBridge Dividend Strategy stated the following regarding TE Connectivity plc (NYSE:TEL) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“Meanwhile, we initiated positions in CVS, Inditex and TE Connectivity plc (NYSE:TEL). Poor execution at Aetna, CVS’s health insurance business, and declining retail profits precipitated a decline in the shares which created an attractive entry point. We anticipate that underwriting improvements for its Medicare Advantage program will yield considerable profit growth over the next few years, which should lead to a re-rating in the stock. TE Connectivity makes connectors for a wide range of uses such as automobiles, data centers and medical devices. Its main end markets, auto and industrial, have come under some cyclical pressure, which weighed on the stock and provided an attractive entry point to this strong business.”
A technician assembling a sensor on an automated assembly line.
TE Connectivity plc (NYSE:TEL) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 50 hedge fund portfolios held TE Connectivity plc (NYSE:TEL) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 44 in the previous quarter. Increased currency exchange headwinds during the fiscal first quarter of 2025 negatively affected TE Connectivity plc’s (NYSE:TEL) sales of $3.84 billion. While we acknowledge the potential of TE Connectivity plc (NYSE:TEL) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
