Satya Nadella dumps 50% of Microsoft shares in multiple tranches ahead of capital gains tax change
The Microsoft CEO offloaded about 840,000 shares for over $285 million, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
File photo of Satya Nadella. Reuters
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sold half of his stake in the company in multiple tranches in November.
Nadella offloaded about 840,000 shares for over $285 million, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Microsoft in a statement said that he sold his stake for personal financial planning and diversification reasons, according to a Geek Wire report.
“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 company said.
Related Articles
The Wall Street Journal cited analysts to say that the move could be related to the impending implementation of capital gains tax law by the Washington state.
The controversial law, which goes into effect on 1 January, 2022, affects business ownership sales and attracts a seven percent tax on stock sales over $250,000.
Washington state’s new capital gains tax is expected to raise about $550 million annually.
The Microsoft stock did not, however, react much to Nadella’s stake sale. The company’s shares closed 1.7 percent down on November 30 at $330.59.
Nadella was named CEO of the technology giant in 2015 and has presided over a period of growth at Microsoft since then. Microsoft shares were trading around $36.35 when he took the reins in February 2014.
Microsoft’s quarterly earnings, announced in October, blew past the market expectations, fuelled by demand for cloud computing and Windows-powered machines.
The US tech titan said it made a profit of $20.5 billion in the recently ended quarter on revenue that climbed to $45.3 billion in a 22 percent increase from the same quarter last year.
also read
US-China trade barbs on disinformation cyberscape
Microsoft put out a release stating that Chinese state sponsored hackers had compromised “critical” US cyberinfrastructure across numerous industries. China claims that the US and its partners, the Five Eyes coalition are spreading misinformation and fake news
As ChatGPT, Google Bard gain popularity, over 70 per cent Indian workers fear losing jobs
While over 70 per cent of Indians express fears of losing their jobs, the report also highlights that a majority of them also utilise AI to enhance productivity
State sponsored Chinese hackers spying on crucial US infrastructure networks, says Western intelligence
Microsoft singled out Guam, a US island in the Pacific Ocean with an important military installation, as one of the targets, but added that 'malicious' activity had been discovered elsewhere in the US