Happy New Financial Year Fools! Of all the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) blue chips over the month that has just passed us by, the Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price was certainly one to watch.
The ASX 200 itself had a solid month, rising from 7,161.6 points at the start of June to 7,327.1 points by the end of trading yesterday. That's a gain of 2.1% for the month.
But the Telstra share price did a few better. Trading at $3.52 a share at the start of June, the ASX telco closed out the month at $3.76 a share, right on the edge of Telstra's new 52-week high. That puts the company's month-to-month gains at 6.82% for June. Not a bad effort for one month's work.
So what went so right for Telstra over June?
Well, it's worth noting that if the month of June was shorter by one day, Telstra would have 'only' managed a gain of 2.27%. Yes, the telco finished up on Tuesday at $3.60 a share. But it was the blockbuster announcement yesterday that really seemed to kick Telstra shares into gear.
Less (towers) is more for the Telstra share price
Yesterday, Telstra announced that it would be selling a 49% interest in its InfraCo Towers business. InfraCo Towers houses Telstra's ~8,200 mobile towers and is one of the largest bastions of mobile infrastructure in the country.
Telstra announced that a consortium, led by the Future Fund and including Sunsuper and the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation, has purchased the 49% stake in InfraCo Towers for $2.8 billion.
The sale is set to go ahead in the first quarter of the new financial year (by 30 September 2021).
Telstra is planning on using half of the proceeds to pay down debt, with the other half to be returned to shareholders in some form. The telco hasn't yet expanded on this, but shareholders could potentially be in line for either a dividend pay rise or some share buybacks (or perhaps even both).
It was this announcement that caused the Telstra share price to rocket more than 4% yesterday, and finish the financial year at a new 52-week high. It also cemented the 6.82% gain for Telstra for the month of June.
Yesterday's news was definitely the 'main event' for Telstra over June. However, there were some other factors that might have also been at play.
My Fool colleague James Mickleboro looked at the potential forward yield of Telstra shares earlier this week, including a forecast from investment bank and broker Goldman Sachs. Goldman reckons Telstra shares might be offering a forward yield of 4.5% per annum on current pricing through to FY2023. It also just yesterday revised its 12-month share price target to $4.20, up from $4.
After such a positive month for the Telstra share price, I'm sure investors are looking forward to what July and FY2022 will bring.
