MERLIN Properties SOCIMI, S.A.'s (BME:MRL) market cap touched €6.2b last week, benefiting both individual investors who own 46% as well as institutions

Key Insights

• MERLIN Properties SOCIMI's significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 47% ownership
• Institutions own 26% of MERLIN Properties SOCIMI

A look at the shareholders of MERLIN Properties SOCIMI, S.A. (BME:MRL) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 46% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

While individual investors were the group that benefitted the most from last week’s €202m market cap gain, institutions too had a 26% share in those profits.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about MERLIN Properties SOCIMI.

View our latest analysis for MERLIN Properties SOCIMI

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About MERLIN Properties SOCIMI?

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 MERLIN Properties SOCIMI does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 MERLIN Properties SOCIMI, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

It would appear that 21% of MERLIN Properties SOCIMI shares are controlled by hedge funds. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Santander Asset Management SA SGIIC with 21% of shares outstanding. With 6.8% and 5.3% of the shares outstanding respectively, Manuel Lao Hernandez and BlackRock, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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 MERLIN Properties SOCIMI

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 MERLIN Properties SOCIMI, S.A.. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own €452m worth of shares (at current prices). Most would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. Still, it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 46% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over MERLIN Properties SOCIMI. 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.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand MERLIN Properties SOCIMI better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that MERLIN Properties SOCIMI is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is potentially serious...

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.