Billionaire John Paulson Is Betting on These Stocks

In the current round of 13F filings, hedge funds and other institutional investors are disclosing their equity portfolios as held at the end of the last year. In its latest 13F, John Paulson‘s Paulson & Co has disclosed its holdings as held at the end of the fourth quarter of 2013. The total value of the fund’s equity portfolio increased to around $20.30 billion in the fourth quarter from about $15.52 billion disclosed at the end of the third quarter.

We have picked Paulson & Co’s top five holdings in terms of value that the fund has held in its equity portfolio at the end of last year.

First on the list is Extended Stay America Inc (NYSE:STAY), in which the company revealed owning 55.71 million shares, worth $1.43 billion, this holding now represents 7.21% of the Paulson’s equity portfolio. The company went public in November 2013, and Paulson was a shareholder of Extended Stay prior to its IPO.

On the second spot is Vodafone Group Plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:VOD), in which the fund boosted its position significantly to 35.19 million shares from 20.0 million shares held at the end of the third quarter of 2013. The value of the current holding is $1.38 million

Third on the list is Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC), in which the fund owns 5.98 million shares, with a reported value of $810.45 million. The holding increased from 4.00 million shares which it held at the end of third quarter. Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC) provides video, high-speed data and voice services in the United States.

The next is Grifols SA, Barcelona (NASDAQ:GRFS). The fund slightly trimmed its position to 19.82 million shares from 19.84 million shares held earlier at the end of the third quarter. However, the value of the current stake is $716.02 million, up from the previous value of $600.69 million.

Sprint Corporation (NYSE:S) is the fifth largest holding, in which the fund upped its stake to 64.15 million shares from 56.63 million shares held at the end of September 2013. The value of the current holding is $689.61 million

In the fourth quarter, Paulson & Co added Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Co. (NASDAQ:HMHC), to its equity portfolio. The fund revealed owning 30.91 million shares, representing 2.58% of its equity portfolio.

Disclosure: none

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