Morgan Stanley Investment Management has sold its 7.2 percent stake in the New York Times (NYSE: NYT) Company, according first to CNBC and then the WSJ and now to various published reports. Fund manager Hassan Elmasry has been an outspoken and active critic of NYTCO management and the two-class stock system that leaves the Sulzberger family in control. The stock closed at $18.48, down 2.27 percent and close to the 52-week low of $18.24. No comment from the NYT; Morgan Stanley has said it will filed with the SEC Thursday. More from NYT, AP, FT.

This can be viewed as another vote against newspapers and/or the dual-class system or as a victory for Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., who outlasted his most vocal shareholder critic.

Update: As expected, Morgan Stanley has filed a 13D confirming that it no longer owns more than 5 percent of the company. Filing.

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