How Much Of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ASX:ANZ) Do Institutions Own?

A look at the shareholders of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ASX:ANZ) can tell us which group is most powerful. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies. Companies that used to be publicly owned tend to have lower insider ownership.

With a market capitalization of AU$71b, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group is rather large. We'd expect to see institutional investors on the register. Companies of this size are usually well known to retail investors, too. In the chart below, we can see that institutions are noticeable on the share registry. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about Australia and New Zealand Banking Group.

See our latest analysis for Australia and New Zealand Banking Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Australia and New Zealand Banking Group?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

As you can see, institutional investors own 23% of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Australia and New Zealand Banking Group's historic earnings and revenue, below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that BlackRock, Inc. is the largest shareholder with 6.1% of shares outstanding. The second largest shareholder with 5.1%, is The Vanguard Group, Inc., followed by Norges Bank Investment Management, with an ownership of 1.4%.

Our studies suggest that the top 17 shareholders collectively control less than 50% of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own AU$26m worth of shares. When analysing a company, looking at ownership may seem a logical place to start. But ultimately, many risks exist within the business itself, rather than its shareholders. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (of which 1 is major) which any shareholder or potential investor should be aware of.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are mostly retail investors, collectively hold 76% of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group shares. This level of ownership gives retail investors the power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

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.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

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