Chr. Hansen Holding A/S' (CPH:CHR) 4.1% loss last week hit both individual investors who own 46% as well as institutions

Key Insights

• Significant control over Chr. Hansen Holding by individual 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
• Institutional ownership in Chr. Hansen Holding is 31%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Chr. Hansen Holding A/S (CPH:CHR), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 46% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While institutions who own 31% came under pressure after market cap dropped to kr.59b last week,individual investors took the most losses.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Chr. Hansen Holding, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Chr. Hansen Holding

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Chr. Hansen Holding?

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 Chr. Hansen Holding does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Chr. Hansen Holding, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Chr. Hansen Holding. Our data shows that Novo Holdings A/S is the largest shareholder with 22% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 3.0% and 2.9% 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.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Chr. Hansen Holding

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 suggests that insiders own under 1% of Chr. Hansen Holding A/S in their own names. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own kr.21m worth of shares. In this sort of situation, it can be more interesting to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 46% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Chr. Hansen Holding. 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 Equity Ownership

Private equity firms hold a 22% stake in Chr. Hansen Holding. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Be aware that Chr. Hansen Holding is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.