John Paulson Sells Stake in Broadcom, Cuts Cablevision Holding

A look at Paulson's 3rd quarter sales

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Nov 18, 2015
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John Paulson (Trades, Portfolio) is the president and portfolio manager of Paulson & Co. Inc. Paulson was ranked by Absolute Return Magazine as the third-largest hedge fund in the world, managing approximately $29 billion and focusing on merger, event and distressed strategies.

The hedge fund has a portfolio composed of 61 stocks with a total value of $18,723 million. The following are the most heavily weighted sales during the third quarter.

Paulson sold out his stake of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company (HMHC) with an impact of 1.46% on the portfolio.

The company is an educational and trade publisher in the U.S. It publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults.

The stock is trading with a P/B ratio of 1.69 and the price has been as high as $27.14 and as low as $17.10 in the past year. It is currently 30.51% below its 52-week high and 10.29% above its 52-week low.

Manning & Napier Advisors Inc. is the company's leading shareholder among the gurus with a stake of 2.45%, followed by Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.32% and John Keeley (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.14%.

The investor reduced his stake in Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) by 83.48% with an impact of 1.10% on his portfolio.

The company provides information technology and professional services and solutions. Its clients include commercial enterprises, the U.S. federal government, as well as state, local and non-U.S. government agencies. The company serves approximately 2,500 clients in more than 70 countries.

Computer Sciences reported 7% year over year growth for non-GAAP diluted EPS during the most recent quarter.

The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 435.02. The price has been as high as $73.29 and as low as $58.77 in the past year. It is currently 3.85% below its 52-week high and 19.91% above its 52-week low. According to the DCF calculator, at the current price of $70 per share the company looks highly overpriced by 2886%.

The firm Jana Partners (Trades, Portfolio) is the largest guru shareholder with a 5.28% stake, followed by Brian Rogers (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.98% and Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.92% of outstanding shares.

Paulson also sold out his stake of Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) with an impact of 1.03% on the portfolio.

The company is provider of semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. It provides a portfolio of SoCs that seamlessly deliver voice, video, data and multimedia connectivity in the home, office and mobile environments. Its business segments include Broadband and Connectivity; and Infrastructure and Networking.

The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 22.72 and has been as high as $57.70 and as low as $40.2 in the past year. It is currently trading 9.32% below its 52-week high and 30.12% above its 52-week low. According to the DCF calculator, the company looks overpriced by 32%.

Andreas Halvorsen (Trades, Portfolio) is the company's leading shareholder among the gurus with a stake of 4.88%, followed by Eric Mindich (Trades, Portfolio) with 3.87% and PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.77%.

Paulson reduced his stake in Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC) by 37.10% with an impact of 0.52% on the portfolio.

It operates through its subsidiary, CSC Holdings. CSC Holdings is a cable operator in the U.S. It also provides high-speed data and voice services in the New York metropolitan area.Â

During the last quarter, the company reached new comprehensive agreements with CBS Corp. (CBS) and Tribune Publishing Co. (TPUB), to provide additional choice and flexibility to consumers.

The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 43.64 and has been as high as $33.28 and as low as $17.66 in the past year. It is currently 6.34% below its 52-week high and 76.50% above its 52-week low. According to the DCF calculator, the company looks highly overpriced by 182%.

Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) is the main guru shareholder, holding 3.6% of outstanding shares, followed by Paulson with 3.82% and Brian Rogers (Trades, Portfolio) with 2.18%.

Paulson reduced his stake of Whiting Petroleum Corp. (WLL) by 22.70% with an impact of 0.45% on the portfolio.

Whiting is an independent oil and gas company engaged in exploration, development, acquisition, exploration and production activities mainly in the Rocky Mountains and Permian Basin regions of the U.S.

The stock is trading with a P/B ratio of 0.69 and has been as high as $60.97 and as low as $13.50 in the past year. It is currently 72.43% below its 52-week high and 24.52% above its 52-week low.

Paulson is the company's leading shareholder among the gurus with a stake of 4.7%, followed by Andreas Halvorsen (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.51% and Paul Singer (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.43%.

The guru also reduced his stake in Shire PLC (SHPG) by 4.09% with an impact of 0.45% on the portfolio.

Shire is a specialty biopharmaceutical company that focuses on developing and marketing specialty medicines that address unmet patient needs.

In the third quarter, Shire reported a 7% increase for product sales and total revenues were up 4% year over year.

The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 13.36 and has been as high as $270.63 and as low as $196.01 in the past year. It is currently trading 21.63% below its 52-week high and 8.21% above its 52-week low. According to the DCF calculator, the company looks undervalued by 7%.

Paulson is the main guru shareholder with a stake of 3.4%, followed by Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.11% and Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.02% of outstanding shares.

Paulson reduced his stake in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (VRX) by 1.22% with an impact of 0.12% on the portfolio.

It is a multinational, specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company that develops, manufactures, and markets a range of branded, generic and branded generic pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter products OTC, and medical devices such as contact lenses, intraocular lenses, ophthalmic surgical equipment, and aesthetics devices.

The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 45.35 and has been as high as $263.82 and as low as $69.95 in the past year. It is currently trading 73.20% below its 52-week high and 1.07% above its 52-week low. According to the DCF calculator, the company looks highly overpriced by 171%.

Manning & Napier Advisors Inc. is the company's leading shareholder among the gurus with a stake of 2.45%, followed by Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.32% and John Keeley (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.14%.

Paulson also reduced its stake in Howard Hughes Corp. (HHC) by 47.62% with an impact of 0.1% on the portfolio.

Howard Hughes is a developer and operator of master planned communities and mixed use properties.Â

During the last quarter, adjusted net income grew by 102.1%, net operating income increased 75.3% and MPC land sales grew by 3.8%.

The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 41.35 and has been as high as $159.65 and as low as $112.01 in the past year. It is currently 23.83% below its 52-week high and 8.56% above its 52-week low. According to the DCF calculator, the company looks highly overpriced by 180%.

Paulson reduced his stake in T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS) by 1.25% and with an impact of 0.05% on the portfolio.

The company provides wireless communications services, including voice, messaging and data services in the postpaid, prepaid and wholesale markets.Â

The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 63.21 and has been as high as $43.43 and as low as $24.26 in the past year. It is currently 12.16% below its 52-week high and 57.25% above its 52-week low.

Paulson is the company's leading shareholder among the gurus with a stake of 2.89%.