Billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros' Soros Fund Management reported holdings of $4.2 billion at the end of the second quarter after cutting its stake in a number of retailers.

The New York-based fund firm cut its stakes in retailer Wal-Mart Stores and drugstore chain Walgreen Co during the quarter after boosting its position in Walgreen in the first quarter, according to a regulatory filing made on Friday.

The firm also cut its stake in Lowe's Cos Inc to 579,000 shares from 5.4 million shares.

The firm also took a stake in Bank of America , whose share price has climbed 20.74 percent since January, at a time when many financial companies appear to be recovering from last year's sharp declines.

Soros took new positions in computer maker Dell Inc and drug company Pfizer Inc .

The fund made its moves at a time when the broader stock market was rallying on hopes that the global downturn would soon end.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Richard Chang)

George soros Investment Bank of america