Retail investors who hold 46% of AMA Group Limited (ASX:AMA) gained 15%, institutions profited as well

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in AMA Group indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 15 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Insiders have been buying lately

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A look at the shareholders of AMA Group Limited (ASX:AMA) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 46% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While retail investors were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week’s 15% price gain, institutions also received a 37% cut.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about AMA Group.

Check out our latest analysis for AMA Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About AMA Group?

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.

AMA Group already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 AMA Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in AMA Group. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is TIGA Trading Pty Ltd, Asset Management Arm with 10% of shares outstanding. With 6.7% and 6.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, FMR LLC and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited are the second and third largest shareholders.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 51% of the ownership is controlled by the top 15 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of AMA Group

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. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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.

We can report that insiders do own shares in AMA Group Limited. As individuals, the insiders collectively own AU$25m worth of the AU$469m company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 46% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over AMA Group. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 3.5%, of the AMA Group stock. 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 8.0% of the AMA Group shares on issue. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand AMA Group better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for AMA Group that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.

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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.