Daniel S. Loeb has ended his engagement with Morgan Stanley.
Mr. Loeb’s hedge fund, Third Point, disclosed in a filing on Wednesday that it had sold its 7.8 million shares in the Wall Street firm during the first quarter of this year, not long after accumulating the stake. An activist investor, Mr. Loeb had taken aim at the compensation of Morgan Stanley’s board members.
Third Point â€" which this week called for a breakup of Sony â€" likely made money on its Morgan Stanley investment. Shares of Morgan Stanley rose 15 percent in the first quarter to $21.98 a share. The hedge fund had bought shares at an average of price of $16.77 in the fourth quarter of last year.
In a letter to investors, Mr. Loeb had said how “surprised†he was about how much Morgan Stanley’s directors were paid, even as he praised the firm and its management. Morgan Stanley’s board members received an average of $351,080 in 2011, making their compensation the second highest for directors on Wall Street, according to Equilar, a compensation data firm.
“We hope Morgan Stanley will show that its reinvention begins at the top and set an example for the company by quickly revising its board practices,†Mr. Loeb wrote in the letter.
Separately, the hedge fund manager sold off another prominent investment, Herbalife, during the first quarter, the filing on Wednesday shows.
Third Point disclosed in January that it had taken an 8.2 percent stake in Herbalife, a company that had been loudly criticized by a rival hedge fund manager, William A. Ackman.
Herbalife’s stock rose 13.7 percent in the first quarter.
