President-elect Trump is transferring about $4 billion of his Trump Media shares to the trust

Shares of Trump Media and Technology Group fell in midday trading on Friday after President Donald Trump transferred all of his shares into a convertible trust, according to regulatory filings.

Trump transferred all of his approximately 115 million shares — worth $4 billion on paper — in the parent company. Truth Social website as a “de facto gift” to the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday. Trump shares account for more than half of the company’s stock.

It is unclear why Trump moved the property. Donald Trump Jr. is the sole trustee and has voting and investment power over all of the trustee’s securities.

Shares of Trump Media were down about 2% in the afternoon, to $34.68 each. At one point on Friday, it was down nearly 6%.

Shares of Trump Media have been volatile since the company went public in March. They reached intraday highs near $80 on the first day of trading, and fell until late September when Trump and other insiders were allowed to sell shares after lock-up agreements expired. Trump has not sold any shares in the company.

Stocks have moved sharply on news — good and bad — about Trump. They fell after Trump’s impeachment trial in May, then went ahead with the first attempt to assassinate Trump in July. They rose again after winning re-election in November, although the company reported a loss of $19.2 million in the third quarter.

Trump created Trump Media after being banned from Twitter and Facebook following the January 6, 2021 riots at the Capitol.