Individual investors own 27% of Hannover Rück SE (ETR:HNR1) shares but private companies control 50% of the company

Key Insights

• Significant control over Hannover Rück by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• HDI Haftpflichtverband der Deutschen Industrie V.a.G. owns 50% of the company
• Institutional ownership in Hannover Rück is 23%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Hannover Rück SE (ETR:HNR1), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 50% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

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.

Check out our latest analysis for Hannover Rück

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hannover Rück?

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.

We can see that Hannover Rück does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is HDI Haftpflichtverband der Deutschen Industrie V.a.G. with 50% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest 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%.

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 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. 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 data cannot confirm that board members are 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

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 27% stake in Hannover Rück. 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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 50%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the 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.

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.