Sovereign Trust Insurance insiders sell N2.3bn shares

Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc has disclosed multiple insider transactions involving directors and related parties who sold a combined volume of shares valued at over N2.3bn.

The details of the transactions were contained in separate filings submitted to the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Tuesday, September 8, 2025.

According to the disclosures, the company’s Non-Executive Director, Abimbola Oguntunde, sold 200m ordinary shares at N2.95 per share on September 4, 2025, amounting to N590m.

Similarly, Tripple Tees Endowment Limited, a company related to a non-executive director, sold a total of 52.3m shares in three tranches: 16.5m units at N3.68, 25.05m units at N2.92, and 10.69m units at N3.21, with an aggregate value of about N168.3m. The sales were conducted on August 14, 15, and 18, 2025

Also, the company’s Executive Director, Ugochi Odemelam, sold 80m shares at N2.95 per share on September 4, 2025, amounting to N236m.

In a separate transaction, former Chairman of the Board and a person with significant control, Oluseun Ajayi, sold a total of 500m shares in six tranches on September 4, 2025. The bulk of the sales were executed at N2.98 per share, bringing the total consideration to about N1.49bn.

The NGX filings indicated that all the transactions were conducted in Lagos in compliance with insider trading disclosure requirements.

Market analysts note that the cumulative disposal of over 830m shares within weeks by insiders and related parties could raise concerns among minority shareholders about boardroom confidence in the company’s long-term outlook.

However, insider share sales are often attributed to portfolio diversification or liquidity needs rather than an outright lack of faith in a firm’s fundamentals.