Steven Cohen Loads Up on Newmont Mining

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May 17, 2011
Steve Cohen of SAC Capital recently purchased shares of Newmont Mining (NEM, Financial).


The largest change in Cohen's holdings was the increased stakes in Newmont.


Cohen bought 4.52 million shares of the gold miner last quarter at prices between $52-58. Newmont is one of the largest holdings in Cohen's portfolio at 1.25% of his total portfolio. SAC now has a 0.95% of the entire company.


Newmont has attracted several value investors due to it's low Price/Cashflow ratio, clean balance sheet and reasonable dividend.


The other big change in Cohen's portfolio was that he sold a big part of his holdings in

Plains Exploration & Production Co. (PXP, Financial).


"SAC cut its Plains Exploration & Production Co. stake by 45 percent last quarter, according to the filing today. The fund increased its equity weighting to the energy and materials industries by 1.2 percent each and lowered consumer discretionary and technology weightings by 1 percent in the period that ended March 31."


Interestingly, Cohen cut his holdings of Plains Exploration & Production Co. while publicly naming the company as one of his top picks in an interview in February. One has to wonder if Cohen was selling 4 million shares "while talking his book" and encouraging copy cat hedge funds and speculators to purchase shares of Plains Exploration & Production Co.


Cohen has a hyperactive trading style which means that he is a difficult fund manager to track.