Companies

Co-op Bank MD sells 10 million shares

GM

Co-op Bank managing director Gideon Muriuki. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Co-operative Bank #ticker:COOP chief executive Gideon Muriuki has sold nearly 10 million shares of the lender worth Sh161 million, marking his latest trade in the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm.

The bank disclosed in regulatory filings that Mr Muriuki’s stake dropped to 1.88 per cent (110.3 million shares) in December from 2.05 per cent (120.2 million shares) in September.

He has previously raised and lowered his stake in Co-op Bank in trades that indicate buying when the stock is cheap and taking profits in strong markets.

He, for instance, invested more than Sh100 million to buy 10.3 million shares of the bank in the first seven months of 2013 when the stock had a price-to-earnings ratio of about five.

READ: Top NSE investors rake in millions from bank stocks

The latest sale meanwhile came after the share price had rallied, raising the ratio above seven per cent. On Monday Mr Muriuki had not responded to our queries by the time of going to press.

The stock traded at an average of Sh16.2 in the transaction period (October to December).

Co-op Bank had one of the biggest gains on the NSE in 2017, with its market capitalisation, including new bonus shares issued, rising 48 per cent to close the year at Sh93.8 billion.

Mr Muriuki has retained his position as Co-op Bank’s single-largest local individual shareholder in the lender.