By Geoffrey Rogow 
 

Soros Fund Management LLC sold out of holdings in several banking giants in the first quarter, including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America and Citigroup.

The exits come only a quarter after the fund had purchased stakes in J.P. Morgan and Citi. In all, the fund had owned about 2.8 million shares of J.P. Morgan as of Dec. 31 and 2.3 million shares of Citi. Shares of both banks are down more than 7% year to date.

The prominent fund also eliminated its stakes in Alcoa and J.C. Penney in the period ended March 31, and decreased its stakes in Liberty Global, Zynga, Microsoft and General Motors. The fund's move with General Motors follows a hard quarter for the car maker, while the decreased stake in Microsoft comes just two quarters after the fund had increased its stake significantly.

The hedge fund, founded by billionaire investor George Soros, increasingly had lowered its stake in J.C. Penney in recent quarters as the retailer looks to revitalize its sales in a fiercely competitive apparel market.

Also in the quarter, Mr. Soros's fund slightly increased its stake in Herbalife, leaving it with 4.9 million shares as of March 31, up from 3.2 million a quarter ago.

Mr. Soros's fund, which disclosed in 2011 it would return cash to outside investors, invests money for Mr. Soros and his family.

Investors who manage more than $100 million are required to disclose most securities holdings within a month and a half of the end of a quarter. The filings give the public a relatively fresh look at the portfolios of well-known investors. The fourth-quarter deadline was Friday.

Write to Geoffrey Rogow at geoffrey.rogow@wsj.com

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