AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik Aktiengesellschaft (VIE:ATS) surges 8.5%; individual investors who own 51% shares profited along with institutions

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 23 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Institutions own 31% of AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik

A look at the shareholders of AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik Aktiengesellschaft (VIE:ATS) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 51% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While individual investors were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week’s 8.5% price gain, institutions also received a 31% cut.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

We can see that AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik. Our data shows that Johannes Dörflinger-Stiftung, Endowment Arm is the largest shareholder with 18% of shares outstanding. Androsch Privatstiftung is the second largest shareholder owning 18% of common stock, and American Century Investment Management Inc holds about 2.5% of the company stock.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 23 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our data cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. Not all jurisdictions have the same rules around disclosing insider ownership, and it is possible we have missed something, here. So you can click here learn more about the CEO.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 51% of AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik shares. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 18%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Be aware that AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 2 of those are a bit unpleasant...

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.