Mutares SE & Co. KGaA's (ETR:MUX) 13% gain last week benefited both individual investors who own 59% as well as insiders

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Mutares SE KGaA indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 42% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Insiders own 25% of Mutares SE KGaA

If you want to know who really controls Mutares SE & Co. KGaA (ETR:MUX), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 59% stake, individual investors possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Individual investors gained the most after market cap touched €574m last week, while insiders who own 25% also benefitted.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Mutares SE KGaA, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Mutares SE KGaA

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Mutares SE KGaA?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Mutares SE KGaA. 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. 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 Mutares SE KGaA, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Mutares SE KGaA. The company's CEO Robin Laik is the largest shareholder with 25% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 9.8% and 1.5% of the 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 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. 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 Mutares SE 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. 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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Mutares SE & Co. KGaA. Insiders have a €141m stake in this €574m business. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 59% of Mutares SE KGaA shares. 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 Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 9.8%, of the Mutares SE KGaA stock. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 4 warning signs for Mutares SE KGaA (3 are a bit concerning!) 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.