Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien's (ETR:BVB) market cap surged €43m last week, retail investors who have a lot riding on the company were rewarded

Key Insights

• Significant control over Borussia Dortmund GmbH Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 45% ownership
• Institutions own 14% of Borussia Dortmund GmbH Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien (ETR:BVB), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 55% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, retail investors collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit €419m market cap following a 11% gain in the stock.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Borussia Dortmund GmbH Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien.

See our latest analysis for Borussia Dortmund GmbH Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Borussia Dortmund GmbH Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Borussia Dortmund GmbH Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien. 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 Borussia Dortmund GmbH Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Borussia Dortmund GmbH Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien. Bernd Geske is currently the company's largest shareholder with 8.2% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 8.2% and 6.0% 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 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 Borussia Dortmund GmbH Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien

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.

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien. As individuals, the insiders collectively own €35m worth of the €419m company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 55% of Borussia Dortmund GmbH Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien shares. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 15%, of the shares on issue. 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.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 8.2% of Borussia Dortmund GmbH Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien stock. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

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. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Borussia Dortmund GmbH Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien that you should be aware of.

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.