Individual investors among Barco NV's (EBR:BAR) largest stockholders and were hit after last week's 4.3% price drop

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Barco indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 13 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Institutional ownership in Barco is 19%

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If you want to know who really controls Barco NV (EBR:BAR), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 47% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And last week, individual investors endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 4.3%.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Barco.

Check out our latest analysis for Barco

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Barco?

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.

Barco already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Barco's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Barco. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Titan-Baratto NV with 28% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 5.9% and 3.4% of the stock.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 13 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. 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 Barco

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

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

With a 47% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Barco. 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 Equity Ownership

Private equity firms hold a 5.9% stake in Barco. 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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 28%, 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Barco better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Barco .

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.