John Paulson’s Portfolio Changes

John Paulson has new shares in health-care. As of February 14, 2011, it was officially reported in form 13F that the billionaire bought through his hedge fund Paulson & Co new stakes in three pharmaceutical and medical device companies during the fourth quarter period. John Paulson bought into holdings for Baxter International (BAX), Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA), and Medtronic Incorporated (MDT). As of December 31, the health-care holdings that Paulson bought into have a total value of $824 million.

Billionaire John Paulson also bought new holdings in the energy producers’ sector. With the massive oil spill of BP’s fading from investors’ memories, John Paulson bought 7.2 million shares of the rig contractor Transocean (RIGN). Transocean’s shares have a market value of $500 million as of December 31.

For the most part, the billionaire has kept his top holdings unchanged. Paulson’s top four holdings were again counted as being SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), AngloGold Ashanti (ANGJ), Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC). He has, however, made some noticeable adjustments in other areas of his multi-billion dollar portfolio.

With Genzyme Corp. (GENZ) currently on the cusp of being acquired by the French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis (SASY), John Paulson raised his holdings in the biotechnology firm significantly. He increased them from about 1.9 million to 6.8 million shares.

Along with the boost he gave to his share in the biotechnology firm, billionaire Paulson also pushed his position in the oil and gas firm Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) higher. With a purchase of 7.8 million shares, John Paulson increased his holdings from 13.4 million shares to more than 21 million as of September 30. The Anadarko stake, Paulson’s fifth-largest bet in his portfolio, will be worth 1.62 billion dollars at the end of the fourth quarter.

Also reported in February’s filing, John Paulson (the 55-year-old hedge fund manager) acquired a stake worth 128 million dollars during the fourth quarter in the Tampa-based coal-mining company Walter Energy Inc.

For quite some time the billionaire has been telling investors that he expects the economy to bounce back. Probably expecting a resurgence in U.S. consumer spending, Paulson’s latest filing has shown a stake in the mid-tier clothing retailer J Crew (JCG). However, he seems to have removed his holdings in budget-oriented Family Dollar Stores (FDO).

Just a few years ago Paulson was extremely successful with his bet that housing prices would drop. It earned him a $4 billion payout.

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