Boston investment adviser sells the bulk of Massey Energy shares owned by clients

Boston investment adviser trims Massey holdings

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Boston investment adviser has sold the bulk of Massey Energy shares owned by its clients.

Regulatory filings show Wellington Management has been trimming Massey holdings since late 2009.

Wellington clients owned nearly 11.8 million shares of Virginia-based Massey on Nov. 30. By December, that figure had dipped to 11.2 million and Wellington dumped more than half of that during the first quarter. A March 10 filing lists Massey holdings at 5.3 million.

Wellington’s latest filing lists 883,155 Massey shares, less than 1 percent of the total. Wellington had owned more than 5 percent. The filings offer no explanation.

Massey’s shares have lost more than 48 percent of their value since an April 5 explosion killed 29 men at a coal mine in West Virginia.