Telefônica Brasil S.A.'s (BVMF:VIVT3) market cap touched R$80b last week, benefiting both public companies who own 75% as well as institutions

Key Insights

• Telefônica Brasil's significant public companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• Telefónica, S.A. owns 75% of the company
• Institutions own 14% of Telefônica Brasil

If you want to know who really controls Telefônica Brasil S.A. (BVMF:VIVT3), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 75% to be precise, is public companies. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Following a 4.3% increase in the stock price last week, public companies profited the most, but institutions who own 14% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Telefônica Brasil, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Telefônica Brasil

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Telefônica Brasil?

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.

We can see that Telefônica Brasil does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Telefônica Brasil's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Telefônica Brasil is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Telefónica, S.A., with ownership of 75%. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 3.0% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 1.9% by the third-largest shareholder.

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. 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 Telefônica Brasil

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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. It is unusual not to have at least some personal holdings by board members, so our data might be flawed. A good next step would be to check how much the CEO is paid.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 10% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 75% of Telefônica Brasil stock. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Telefônica Brasil that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.