While individual investors own 11% of DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA (ETR:DWS), public companies are its largest shareholders with 79% ownership

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by public companies in DWS Group GmbH KGaA indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 79% of the company is held by a single shareholder (Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft)
• Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

Every investor in DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA (ETR:DWS) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that public companies own the lion's share in the company with 79% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Meanwhile, individual investors make up 11% of the company’s shareholders.

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

See our latest analysis for DWS Group GmbH KGaA

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About DWS Group GmbH KGaA?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

We can see that DWS Group GmbH KGaA does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see DWS Group GmbH KGaA's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in DWS Group GmbH KGaA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft is currently the company's largest shareholder with 79% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 5.0% and 0.7% of the stock.

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 DWS Group GmbH KGaA

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.

We note our data does not show any board members holding shares, personally. It is unusual not to have at least some personal holdings by board members, so our data might be flawed. A good next step would be to check how much the CEO is paid.

General Public Ownership

With a 11% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over DWS Group GmbH KGaA. 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.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 79% of DWS Group GmbH KGaA. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand DWS Group GmbH KGaA better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for DWS Group GmbH KGaA that you should be aware of before investing here.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.