The Microsoft Executive Sells $9.2 Million Worth Of Stock To Capitalize On Recent Market Gains

Microsoft Corporation's chief commercial officer, Judson Althoff, has sold more than $9 million of his Microsoft stock holdings, taking advantage of the stock's strong surge this year. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Althoff sold 30,000 shares of Microsoft at an average price of $306.09 on Monday.

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Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment regarding the stock sale. Althoff sold the shares as Microsoft's stock experienced a sharp rally to start the year. The stock saw a 28.1% increase in the first four months of 2023, the best four-month start since 2019, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

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Ben Silverman, the research director at VerityData, stated that the shares Althoff sold were acquired through restricted stock vestings in August 2021. After the sale, Althoff's Microsoft holdings fell by around 20%, excluding potential earn outs of performance-based stock awards. However, these awards could potentially be significant over the next several years.

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Althoff still owns 117,456.472 shares of Microsoft, which are worth approximately $36 million at current prices. Since Althoff's promotion to chief commercial officer in mid-2021, he is required to report all stock transactions. He has sold Microsoft stock two other times since his promotion.

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Silverman noted that Althoff's November 2, 2021 sale of 54,757 shares for an average price of about $332.28, or $18.2 million in total, "proved well-timed." However, he added that virtually any insider who sold in the fourth quarter of 2021 ended up with a well-timed sale. This move occurred near the stock's all-time closing high of $343.11, achieved later that November. In early November 2022, the shares closed as low as $214.25, and even after the recent rally, they are still off their highs, trading at around $305.

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Althoff's timing was less opportune when he sold 24,144 shares at prices between $250.99 and $256.07 on December 1, 2022, given that Microsoft's stock is now trading about 20% higher.

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