M. Dias Branco S.A. Indústria e Comércio de Alimentos (BVMF:MDIA3) is a favorite amongst institutional investors who own 69%

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, M. Dias Branco Indústria e Comércio de Alimentos' stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• The largest shareholder of the company is Itaú Distribuidora de Títulos e Valores Mobiliários S.A. with a 64% stake
• Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

Every investor in M. Dias Branco S.A. Indústria e Comércio de Alimentos (BVMF:MDIA3) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 69% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Given the vast amount of money and research capacities at their disposal, institutional ownership tends to carry a lot of weight, especially with individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about M. Dias Branco Indústria e Comércio de Alimentos.

Check out our latest analysis for M. Dias Branco Indústria e Comércio de Alimentos

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About M. Dias Branco Indústria e Comércio de Alimentos?

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.

M. Dias Branco Indústria e Comércio de Alimentos 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 M. Dias Branco Indústria e Comércio de Alimentos, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in M. Dias Branco Indústria e Comércio de Alimentos. Our data shows that Itaú Distribuidora de Títulos e Valores Mobiliários S.A. is the largest shareholder with 64% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. With 3.9% and 1.4% of the shares outstanding respectively, Aveiro Fundo De Investimento and The Vanguard Group, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

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 M. Dias Branco Indústria e Comércio de Alimentos

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

We note our data does not show any board members holding shares, personally. Given we are not picking up on insider ownership, we may have missing data. Therefore, it would be interesting to assess the CEO compensation and tenure, here.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 27% stake in M. Dias Branco Indústria e Comércio de Alimentos. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 3.9%, of the M. Dias Branco Indústria e Comércio de Alimentos 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.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand M. Dias Branco Indústria e Comércio de Alimentos better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for M. Dias Branco Indústria e Comércio de Alimentos you should know about.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.