Painful week for individual investors invested in Swiss Prime Site AG (VTX:SPSN) after 3.6% drop, institutions also suffered losses

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Swiss Prime Site indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 25 shareholders own 42% of the company
• Institutional ownership in Swiss Prime Site is 48%

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If you want to know who really controls Swiss Prime Site AG (VTX:SPSN), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 52% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While the holdings of individual investors took a hit after last week’s 3.6% price drop, institutions with their 48% holdings also suffered.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Swiss Prime Site.

Check out our latest analysis for Swiss Prime Site

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Swiss Prime Site?

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.

Swiss Prime Site 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 Swiss Prime Site's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Swiss Prime Site is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that UBS Asset Management AG is the largest shareholder with 13% of shares outstanding. BlackRock, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 9.1% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 4.5% of the company stock.

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 Swiss Prime Site

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

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 less than 1% of Swiss Prime Site AG. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own CHF14m of stock. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 52% stake in Swiss Prime Site, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Swiss Prime Site better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Swiss Prime Site is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is a bit concerning...

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.