Individual investors who hold 35% of Will Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (SHSE:603501) gained 8.5%, insiders profited as well

Key Insights

• Significant control over Will Semiconductor by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 12 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Insiders own 29% of Will Semiconductor

A look at the shareholders of Will Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (SHSE:603501) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 35% stake, individual investors possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

While individual investors were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week’s 8.5% price gain, insiders also received a 29% cut.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Will Semiconductor.

View our latest analysis for Will Semiconductor

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Will Semiconductor?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

Will Semiconductor already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Will Semiconductor, (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 Will Semiconductor. Ren Rong Yu is currently the company's largest shareholder with 28% of shares outstanding. Zhongxin Technology Private Equity Fund Management (Ningbo) Co., Ltd. is the second largest shareholder owning 6.2% of common stock, and Education Foundation of Eastern Institute of Technology, Endowment Arm holds about 4.2% of the company stock.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 12 have the combined ownership of 51% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

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

Insider Ownership Of Will Semiconductor

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.

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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Will Semiconductor Co., Ltd.. Insiders own CN¥40b worth of shares in the CN¥139b company. That's quite meaningful. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 35% stake in Will Semiconductor. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Equity Ownership

With an ownership of 6.2%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too.

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.

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.