Fresenius Medical Care AG's (ETR:FME) institutional investors lost 4.8% over the past week but have profited from longer-term gains

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Fresenius Medical Care's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• The top 5 shareholders own 53% of the company
• Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

Every investor in Fresenius Medical Care AG (ETR:FME) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 41% to be precise, is institutions. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

No shareholder likes losing money on their investments, especially institutional investors who saw their holdings drop 4.8% in value last week. However, the 14% one-year return to shareholders might have softened the blow. But they would probably be wary of future losses.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Fresenius Medical Care

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Fresenius Medical Care?

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.

Fresenius Medical Care 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. 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 Fresenius Medical Care's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Fresenius Medical Care is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA is the largest shareholder with 32% of shares outstanding. Dodge & Cox is the second largest shareholder owning 7.5% of common stock, and Harris Associates L.P. holds about 5.0% of the company stock.

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 studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Fresenius Medical Care

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.

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 Fresenius Medical Care AG insiders own under 1% of the company. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own €2.3m of stock. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 27% stake in Fresenius Medical Care. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 32% of Fresenius Medical Care stock. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Be aware that Fresenius Medical Care is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.