Despite selling recently, Spin Master Corp. (TSE:TOY) insiders own 65% stake and recent decline might have cost them

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Spin Master implies vested interests in company growth
• 58% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders
• Insiders have sold recently

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If you want to know who really controls Spin Master Corp. (TSE:TOY), 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 insiders with 65% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Even though insiders have sold shares recently, the group owns the most numbers of shares in the company. As a result, the group bore the brunt of last week’s CA$155m market cap loss.

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

View our latest analysis for Spin Master

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Spin Master?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Spin Master. 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. 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 Spin Master's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Spin Master is not owned by hedge funds. Our data suggests that Ronnen Harary, who is also the company's Top Key Executive, holds the most number of shares at 30%. When an insider holds a sizeable amount of a company's stock, investors consider it as a positive sign because it suggests that insiders are willing to have their wealth tied up in the future of the company. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 28% and 6.7% of the stock. Note that two of the top three shareholders are also Top Key Executive and Member of the Board of Directors, respectively, once again pointing to significant ownership by company insiders.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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

Insider Ownership Of Spin Master

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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 most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of Spin Master Corp.. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. That means insiders have a very meaningful CA$1.5b stake in this CA$2.3b business. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been selling any of their shares.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 14% 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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 3.4%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Spin Master you should be aware of.

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.