Soros Reports No Stake In Google; Adds JP Morgan, Goldman
May 15 2012 - 7:09PM
Dow Jones News
Billionaire investor George Soros's Soros Fund Management LLC
reported no stake in Internet giant Google Inc. (GOOG), while
reporting new positions in big banks J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
(JPM) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS).
The famed investor also reported a holding in packaged-foods
company Sara Lee Corp. (SLE).
Previously, the firm had disclosed owning 259,000 shares of
Google, which was one of its top positions in terms of market
value, as of the end of the fourth quarter.
During the first quarter though, Soros appeared to bet on a
rebound in financial stocks, reporting 606,400 shares of J.P.
Morgan, which were valued at $28 million as of March 31, according
to a regulatory filing late Tuesday.
Soros also showed stakes of 2.3 million shares in Regions
Financial, worth $15 million, and a smaller, 120,000-share position
in Goldman Sachs, valued at $14.9 million.
Among other financials, Soros reported a reduced stake in Wells
Fargo, in which he held 537,000 shares, down from 1.2 million
shares in the fourth quarter.
Overall, the value of Soros's holdings rose to $6.8 billion, up
from $4.6 billion, in the fourth quarter. Soros reported a 40% rise
in the number of total holdings to 201 positions, a contrast to his
slimmed-down portfolio in the prior period.
Soros, who once dubbed gold "the ultimate asset bubble," again
juggled his positions in the precious metal, raising his stake in
the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), a gold-backed exchanged-traded fund, to
319,550 shares, up from 48,350 shares as of Dec. 31. The holding is
now valued at $51.8 million.
In other moves, Soros disclosed a new debt position in Digital
River Inc. (DRIV), noting its principal ownership amount was 152
million securities, worth $147 million.
Additionally, he reported a new, 7.4 million-share stake in Sara
Lee, valued at $159.2 million. The company, which is among Soros's
top 10 holdings, plans to spin off its European coffee-and-tea unit
into a new, standalone beverage company, whose shares will be
listed in Amsterdam.
Many investors that manage more than $100 million are required
to file 13-Fs disclosures that list their holdings within 45 days
of the end of a quarter. The first-quarter deadline was
Tuesday.
-By Brett Philbin, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2173;
brett.philbin@dowjones.com
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