Great week for Sanoma Oyj (HEL:SANOMA) institutional investors after losing 4.5% over the previous year

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Sanoma Oyj's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• 53% of the business is held by the top 5 shareholders
• Recent purchases by insiders

Every investor in Sanoma Oyj (HEL:SANOMA) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 46% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Institutional investors would appreciate the 5.3% increase in share price last week, given their one-year losses have totalled a disappointing 4.5%.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Sanoma Oyj

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Sanoma Oyj?

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

Sanoma Oyj is not owned by hedge funds. Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, Endowment Arm is currently the company's largest shareholder with 24% of shares outstanding. With 13% and 7.5% of the shares outstanding respectively, Holding Manutas Oy and Robin Langenskiöld are the second and third largest shareholders.

On looking further, we found that 53% of the shares are owned by the top 5 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.

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

Insider Ownership Of Sanoma Oyj

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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Sanoma Oyj. It has a market capitalization of just €1.2b, and insiders have €194m worth of shares in their own names. That's quite significant. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 24% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Sanoma Oyj. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 14%, of the shares on issue. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Sanoma Oyj (of which 1 shouldn't be ignored!) you should know about.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.