State or government among Banque Cantonale de Genève SA's (VTX:BCGE) largest shareholders, saw gain in holdings value after stock jumped 3.0% last week

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by state or government in Banque Cantonale de Genève indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 2 investors have a majority stake in the company with 66% ownership
• Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Banque Cantonale de Genève SA (VTX:BCGE), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 66% to be precise, is state or government. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, state or government were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 3.0% gain.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Banque Cantonale de Genève, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Banque Cantonale de Genève

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Banque Cantonale de Genève?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Banque Cantonale de Genève. 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. 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 Banque Cantonale de Genève, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Banque Cantonale de Genève. State of Geneva is currently the company's largest shareholder with 45% of shares outstanding. With 21% and 6.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, Ville de Genève and Caisse de Prévoyance de l'Etat de Genève are the second and third largest shareholders.

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 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 is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Banque Cantonale de Genève

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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Banque Cantonale de Genève SA in their own names. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own CHF7.5m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

With a 25% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Banque Cantonale de Genève. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.

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.