Morgan Stanley (MS), Citigroup Inc. (C) and Three Other Companies Register Noteworthy Insider Selling

Morgan Stanley Sees One Executive Sell Big

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had one member of its executive team jettison a massive block of shares this past week. Jeffrey S. Brodsky, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, discarded 19,955 shares on Thursday at prices varying from $28.66 to $29.08 per share, cutting his overall holding to 113,754 shares.

The insider sale comes after Morgan Stanley released its second-quarter earnings report, which revealed $8.9 billion in revenues and a profit of $1.4 billion or $0.75 per share. The top line decreased 9% year-on-year and the bottom line plunged by 12% year-over-year, but both figures beat analysts’ expectations of $8.3 billion in revenues and $0.60 in EPS. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)’s wealth management business somewhat muted the effects of the volatile markets on revenues during the second quarter. The bank’s wealth management arm posted revenue of $3.81 billion, down $64 million year-over-year. The decrease reflects lower commission revenues and lower levels of new issue activity. Morgan Stanley shares are 9% in the red thus far in 2016. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 16% during the June quarter to 310,475 shares.

Fourth-Largest U.S. Bank by Assets Also Sees HR Executive Offload Shares

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was yet another bank that had an HR-related executive sell shares this past week. Michael Joseph Murray, Citi’s Head of Human Resources, sold 8,122 shares on Wednesday at $44.35 apiece, trimming his ownership to 35,042 shares.

The fourth-largest U.S. bank by assets has seen the value of its stock decline by 14% since the start of 2016. Like its industry peers, Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)’s both stock and financial have been under pressure from a mix of low interest rates and weak energy prices. However, some analysts believe Citigroup represents one of the most attractive plays in the financial services space, with its shares currently changing hands at around 8.6-times expected earnings and a 30% discount to tangible book value. It is also believed that the bank’s relatively small network of 729 branches on the North American continent could benefit the bank in the foreseeable future given the fast-increasing transition to digital banking. Stephen J. Errico’s Locust Wood Capital Advisers acquired a new stake of 20,565 shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) during the second quarter.

Chip and Intellectual Property Vendor Has CEO Offload Shares

Last but not least, Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS) also recorded a noteworthy insider sale last week. President and CEO Ronald D. Black discarded 29,528 shares on Thursday at prices ranging from $13.35 to $13.66 per share. After the recent sale, Dr. Black continues to own 359,241 Rambus shares.

The shares of the maker of cutting-edge semiconductor and IP products, spanning memory and interfaces to security, smart sensors and lighting have gained 18% since the start of the year. Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS)’s second-quarter revenue grew by 5% year-over-year to $76.5 million, reflecting higher revenue from security technology development projects, including revenue from the acquisition of Smart Card Software Limited. SCS was a privately-held leader in mobile payments and a leading supplier of smart ticketing systems. During the second quarter, Rambus agreed to purchase the assets of Semtech’s Snowbush IP, a provider of silicon-proven, high-performance serial link solutions. Charles Paquelet’s Skylands Capital added a 39,350-share position in Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS) to its pool of holdings during the June quarter.

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