Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) CEO Satya Nadella sold almost half of his stake in the company last week, when its stock prices were coming down from an all-time high, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
The Redmond-based tech giant disclosed Nadella sold 838,584 shares between Nov. 23 and Nov. 24 for more than $285 million. Share prices ranged from $334 to $349 over those two days, according to the filing. Before Nov. 23 he had about 1.67 million shares of the company.
A Microsoft spokesperson said Nadella sold the shares for personal financial planning reasons.
"He is committed to the continued success of the company and his holdings significantly exceed the holding requirements set by the Microsoft Board of Directors," the spokesperson said in a statement.
It's the most Nadella has ever sold at one time during his time with Microsoft, according to previous SEC filings. In 2018, Nadella sold about 30% of his stake in the company at the time for about $35 million. Microsoft stock prices were around $110 per share at the time.
Ananalyst told the Wall Street Journal that Nadella's move could be preceding Washington state's looming capital gains tax. Starting Jan. 1, Washington residents must pay a 7% tax on the sale of stocks, bonds and other capital assets of over $250,000. Real estate, assets in a retirement account, timber and certain other assets are exempt.
Most of Nadella's compensation is wrapped up in stock awards, based on performance, vested over years from Microsoft. His total compensation for fiscal 2021 was $49.9 million, up from $44.3 million in 2020, according to an SEC filing from last month. Of his total pay, $33 million came from stock awards. His base salary has been $2.5 million for the past two years.
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