While institutions own 46% of Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft Aktiengesellschaft in München (ETR:MUV2), individual investors are its largest shareholders with 54% ownership

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft in München indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 36% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Institutions own 46% of Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft in München

A look at the shareholders of Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft Aktiengesellschaft in München (ETR:MUV2) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 54% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Meanwhile, institutions make up 46% of the company’s shareholders. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft in München.

Check out our latest analysis for Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft in München

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft in München?

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 Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft in München 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. 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 Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft in München's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft in München is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is BlackRock, Inc. with 7.7% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 4.0% and 3.0% 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 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 Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft in München

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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our data cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. Given we are not picking up on insider ownership, we may have missing data. Therefore, it would be interesting to assess the CEO compensation and tenure, here.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 54% stake in Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft in München, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft in München better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft in München , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.