Retail investors who hold 47% of Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (TSE:ATD) gained 4.6%, institutions profited as well

Key Insights

• Alimentation Couche-Tard's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 46% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Recent sales by insiders

If you want to know who really controls Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (TSE:ATD), 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 47% to be precise, is retail investors. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While retail investors were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week’s 4.6% price gain, institutions also received a 35% cut.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Alimentation Couche-Tard.

Check out our latest analysis for Alimentation Couche-Tard

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Alimentation Couche-Tard?

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.

Alimentation Couche-Tard 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 Alimentation Couche-Tard's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Alimentation Couche-Tard is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Les Développements Orano inc. with 11% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 5.7% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 4.3% by the third-largest shareholder.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Alimentation Couche-Tard

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.. It is a very large company, and board members collectively own CA$3.5b worth of shares (at current prices). we sometimes take an interest in whether they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 47% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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

We can see that Private Companies own 14%, 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 Alimentation Couche-Tard better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - Alimentation Couche-Tard has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

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.