While institutions invested in Commerzbank AG (ETR:CBK) benefited from last week's 3.0% gain, individual investors stood to gain the most

Key Insights

• Significant control over Commerzbank by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 50% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• 40% of Commerzbank is held by Institutions

If you want to know who really controls Commerzbank AG (ETR:CBK), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 45% 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.

Following a 3.0% increase in the stock price last week, individual investors profited the most, but institutions who own 40% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Commerzbank.

View our latest analysis for Commerzbank

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Commerzbank?

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.

Commerzbank 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 Commerzbank's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Commerzbank is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Financial Market Stabilisation Fund SoFFin is the largest shareholder with 12% of shares outstanding. UniCredit S.p.A., Private and Commercial Banking Arm is the second largest shareholder owning 9.5% of common stock, and BlackRock, Inc. holds about 7.2% of the company stock.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 25 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that 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 Commerzbank

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.

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.

Our data cannot confirm that board members are 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

With a 45% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Commerzbank. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Commerzbank better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Commerzbank 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.