published Aug 14, 2018, 4:14:06 PM, by Miles Weiss
(Bloomberg) —

Fidelity Investments and T. Rowe Price Group Inc., two of the largest investors in Tesla Inc., disclosed that they each cut their stakes in the electric automaker by more than 20 percent.

The moves came in the second quarter, before Tesla Chairman Elon Musk dropped a bombshell that he may take his company private. T. Rowe Price sold about 3.7 million shares, cutting its holdings to 11.9 million shares, according to regulatory filings. Fidelity funds sold 3.0 million shares, reducing its combined holdings to 11.2 million shares.

The T. Rowe Price Global Technology Fund cut its Tesla holdings to 505,283 shares at June 30 from 3.2 million at March 31, even as other funds at the asset management firm increased their stake in the automaker, according to data compiled by Morningstar. Fidelity has been gradually reducing its Tesla stake since June of last year, when the fund group reported holding a combined 21.3 million shares.

Investors have been wondering if mutual fund giants will stick with the company if it does go private.

To contact the reporter on this story: Miles Weiss in Washington at mweiss@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Margaret Collins at mcollins45@bloomberg.net Vincent Bielski, Josh Friedman
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