Yahoo's CEO Carol Bartz Selling More Than $1M in Shares

(MoneyWatch)  Every new CEO of a troubled company comes in with rolling thunder and promise that things will be better, telling employees to have faith. So what kind of signal does one give when selling more than $1 million in shares after six months on the job? Maybe not a good one. And who does it? Carol Bartz of Yahoo.

According to a Form 4 filed with the SEC yesterday, Carol Bartz sold 73,131 shares of Yahoo stock at $15.66 a share, yielding $1,145,231.46 and leaving her with 937,142 shares. According to the form, the reason for the sale is taxes:

Represents shares reacquired to satisfy tax withholding obligations in connection with the vesting of 159,847 shares of restricted stock granted to the Reporting Person on January 30, 2009.

That may be true, but it's still bound to cause concern among employees who happen to hear of it. When the new sheriff comes to town, you don't want to hear that she's installed a back door to the jailhouse. It may be legal, and the reason may be completely understandable, but it still seems like bad PR.

Image courtesy of Yahoo.