The recent €2.6b market cap decrease is likely to have disappointed insiders invested in Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (ETR:BMW)

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Bayerische Motoren Werke implies vested interests in company growth
• The top 5 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Institutional ownership in Bayerische Motoren Werke is 30%

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If you want to know who really controls Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (ETR:BMW), 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 37% to be precise, is individual insiders. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And following last week's 4.6% decline in share price, insiders suffered the most losses.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Bayerische Motoren Werke, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Bayerische Motoren Werke

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Bayerische Motoren Werke?

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.

We can see that Bayerische Motoren Werke does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Bayerische Motoren Werke's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Bayerische Motoren Werke. Our data shows that Susanne Klatten is the largest shareholder with 20% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 16% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 8.9% by the third-largest shareholder.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 5 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

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

Insider Ownership Of Bayerische Motoren Werke

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft. Insiders own €19b worth of shares in the €50b 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 33% stake in Bayerische Motoren Werke. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

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. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Bayerische Motoren Werke (1 shouldn't be ignored) that you should be aware of.

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.