Following recent decline, Macquarie Technology Group Limited's (ASX:MAQ) top shareholder CEO David Tudehope sees holdings value drop by 4.0%

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Macquarie Technology Group implies vested interests in company growth
• A total of 3 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership
• Institutions own 15% of Macquarie Technology Group

If you want to know who really controls Macquarie Technology Group Limited (ASX:MAQ), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 44% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As market cap fell to AU$2.1b last week, insiders would have faced the highest losses than any other shareholder groups of the company.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Macquarie Technology Group.

See our latest analysis for Macquarie Technology Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Macquarie Technology 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.

Macquarie Technology Group already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Macquarie Technology Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Macquarie Technology Group is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO David Tudehope with 42% of shares outstanding. Viburnum Funds Pty Ltd. is the second largest shareholder owning 5.3% of common stock, and Australian Ethical Investment Limited holds about 4.5% of the company stock.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 52% stake.

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

Insider Ownership Of Macquarie Technology 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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Macquarie Technology Group Limited. It is very interesting to see that insiders have a meaningful AU$931m stake in this AU$2.1b business. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 35% stake in Macquarie Technology Group. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Equity Ownership

Private equity firms hold a 5.3% stake in Macquarie Technology Group. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Macquarie Technology Group better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Macquarie Technology Group (1 is significant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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.