By Liz Moyer Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Hedge fund manager John Paulson's firm reported stakes in Caesars Entertainment (CZR), Viacom (VIA, VIAB) and Prestige Brands Holdings (PBH) in the first quarter and reduced stakes of Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) and SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI) It also reported a stake of 31.57 million shares in Genon Energy Inc. (GEN), up from 4.7 million shares reported at the end of the fourth quarter. The value of Paulson's fund holdings rose 8.6% in the first quarter, to $15 billion, after a losing streak in 2011 that shaved 52% off the value of his holdings. The fund company reported a 12.37-million-share stake in Caesars, along with 1 million class B shares of Viacom and 1 million shares of Prestige Brands. It reported holding 2.7 million shares of Tenet Healthcare, down from 10 million in the fourth quarter. The firm also reported 5.6 million shares of SunTrust, down from 11.8 million in the fourth quarter. Paulson launched a campaign to push for changes at Hartford Financial Services Group (HIG) during the quarter. In March, Hartford announced a radical overhaul of its business to satisfy Paulson's demands for "drastic" change. The insurer agreed to stop selling variable annuities and put its life insurance arm up for sale, focusing on its property and casualty business. On Monday, Paulson said in a securities filing that he had dropped his activist stance toward Hartford. He owned 37.6 million shares, or 8.5%, of Hartford. Paulson also reported a 1.6 million share stake in HCA Holdings Inc. (HCA), a 2 million share stake in Novellus Systems (NVLS), and 1 million share stake in Allied Nevada Gold Corp. (ANV) for the first quarter. The firm reported reduced stakes in several holdings, including News Corp. (NWS), publisher of The Wall Street Journal and this newswire, at 300,000 shares versus 4.9 million in the fourth quarter, and Delphi Automotive, at 45.5 million shares versus 51.7 million in the fourth quarter. -By Liz Moyer, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2512; liz.moyer@dowjones.com; Twitter: @lizmoyer
