US investment giant BlackRock has reduced its exposure to Eagle Bulk Shipping weeks after building its stake to nearly 10%.
A Securities and Exchange Commission filing from the New York-listed bulker owner reveals BlackRock now has 767,811 shares, or a holding of 7.7%.
This slice is worth $42m based on a market cap of $550m.
Connecticut’s Eagle Bulk had disclosed in a 19 January US securities filing that BlackRock owned more than 968,000 shares, or 9.76%, worth about $54m.
The sale of a 2.06% stake would have brought the investor about $11m.
The share closed at $56.74 on Tuesday, up 2% in a day, and from $54.55 over the last month.
BlackRock had become Eagle Bulk’s third-largest shareholder behind shipowners Danaos Corp and Castor Maritime.
The shipowner is being taken over by US-listed rival Star Bulk Carriers in a $500m deal.
Aside from Eagle Bulk, New York-based institutional investor BlackRock has continued to pile up stakes in public shipowners.
TradeWinds reported this week that the Larry Fink-led outfit has for the first time revealed a 5% stake in Rhode Island-based dry bulk owner and operator Pangaea Logistics Solutions.
$21m stake
BlackRock disclosed it has accumulated just over 2.5m shares or about 5.4% of the company in a filing with the SEC.
The stake is worth about $21m.
BlackRock has had an investment in Pangaea for several years, but it has not been large enough to require a public disclosure as a 5% holder until now, Pangaea chief financial officer Gianni DelSignore told TradeWinds.
The investing giant recently revealed it is keeping a stake in tanker investments, showing positions in owners like Scorpio Tankers, Ardmore Shipping, International Seaways and Nordic American Tankers.
BlackRock has been active in other US-listed dry bulk owners as well.
It is the largest holder in New York-based Genco Shipping & Trading with a 7.1% stake.
