Serviceware SE's (ETR:SJJ) most bullish insider, CEO Dirk Martin must be pleased with the recent 11% gain

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Serviceware implies vested interests in company growth
• A total of 2 investors have a majority stake in the company with 63% ownership
• Institutional ownership in Serviceware is 19%

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A look at the shareholders of Serviceware SE (ETR:SJJ) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 63% stake, individual insiders possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, insiders scored the highest last week as the company hit €187m market cap following a 11% gain in the stock.

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

See our latest analysis for Serviceware

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Serviceware?

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

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Serviceware. The company's CEO Dirk Martin is the largest shareholder with 31% of shares outstanding. With 31% and 5.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, Harald Popp and HANSAINVEST Hanseatische Investment-GmbH are the second and third largest shareholders. Interestingly, the second-largest shareholder, Harald Popp is also Chief Financial Officer, again, pointing towards strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Serviceware

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of Serviceware SE. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. So they have a €117m stake in this €187m business. Most would argue this is a positive, showing strong alignment with shareholders. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 18% stake in Serviceware. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

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 like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.

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.