Individual investors account for 55% of SoftwareOne Holding AG's (VTX:SWON) ownership, while private companies account for 21%

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in SoftwareOne Holding indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 25 shareholders own 44% of the company
• Institutions own 18% of SoftwareOne Holding

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If you want to know who really controls SoftwareOne Holding AG (VTX:SWON), 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 55% to be precise, is individual investors. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And private companies on the other hand have a 21% ownership in the company.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of SoftwareOne Holding.

Check out our latest analysis for SoftwareOne Holding

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About SoftwareOne Holding?

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.

SoftwareOne Holding already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 SoftwareOne Holding's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in SoftwareOne Holding. The company's largest shareholder is B. Curti Holding AG, with ownership of 21%. UBS Asset Management AG is the second largest shareholder owning 6.1% of common stock, and Active Ownership Capital S.à R.L. holds about 5.9% of the company stock.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

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. 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 SoftwareOne Holding

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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. Not all jurisdictions have the same rules around disclosing insider ownership, and it is possible we have missed something, here. So you can click here learn more about the CEO.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 55% stake in SoftwareOne Holding, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

Private Equity Ownership

Private equity firms hold a 5.9% stake in SoftwareOne Holding. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company public.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 21%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand SoftwareOne Holding better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for SoftwareOne Holding (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.