Paulson & Co, the hedge-fund firm run by billionaire John Paulson, increased its ownership share in Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) and SunTrust Banks (NYSE: STI) and sold shares in Bank of America Corp (NSE: BAC) during the fourth quarter.
Paulson & Co owned 506.7 million shares in the New York-based Citigroup at the end of December, up from 300 million during the end of the third quarter, according to a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Today. Paulson & Co also cut its stake in Bank of America to 151 million shares, down from 159.8 million shares at the end of the third quarter.
Paulson, who manages about $32 billion out of the firm’s New York offices, started building the fund’s stake in Citigroup during the third quarter. David Tepper, who runs one of 2009’s best performing hedge funds, and billionaire George Soros have both increased their shares in Ctiigroup during the fourth quarter of 2009.
Paulson, who started his fund in 2008 to invest in financial companies that were hurt by mortgage write-downs, also increased his share in SunTrust Banks Inc to 6.1% during the fourth quarter, making his fund the largest investor in the Georgia-based bank. The hedge fund also purchased 17.5 million shares in San Francisco based Wells Fargo during the fourth quarter.
Bank of America remains Paulson’s second largest holding, with a market value of $2.27 billion, according to the filing. In a note to his clients in November, Paulson said that shares of Bank of America may rise to close to $30.00 by December 2011. Bank of America’s stock price closed at $15.16 yesterday.
Paulson left his precious metals investments largely unchanged during the fourth quarter. The firm had an 8.5% share in SPDR Gold Trust, his largest reported holding. The SPDR Gold Trust fund buys gold bullion. Paulson also owned 42.8 million shares in AngloGold Ashanti Ltd, which he became the largest shareholder of last year.
