Hannover Rück SE's (ETR:HNR1) largest shareholders are private companies with 50% ownership, individual investors own 27%

Key Insights

• Hannover Rück's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 50% of the company is held by a single shareholder (HDI Haftpflichtverband der Deutschen Industrie V.a.G.)
• Institutional ownership in Hannover Rück is 23%

If you want to know who really controls Hannover Rück SE (ETR:HNR1), 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 50% to be precise, is private companies. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And individual investors on the other hand have a 27% ownership in the company.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Hannover Rück.

See our latest analysis for Hannover Rück

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hannover Rück?

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 Hannover Rück. 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. 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 Hannover Rück, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hannover Rück is not owned by hedge funds. HDI Haftpflichtverband der Deutschen Industrie V.a.G. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 50% of shares outstanding. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. The second and third largest shareholders are Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management and FMR LLC, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 3.0%.

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 Hannover Rück

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.

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.

We note our data does not show any board members 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

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

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 50%, of the company's shares. 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:

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.

I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

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.