Both retail investors who control a good portion of TietoEVRY Oyj (HEL:TIETO) along with institutions must be dismayed after last week's 5.0% decrease

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in TietoEVRY Oyj indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 17 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Institutions own 39% of TietoEVRY Oyj

A look at the shareholders of TietoEVRY Oyj (HEL:TIETO) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 44% to be precise, is retail investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While institutions, who own 39% shares weren’t spared from last week’s €104m market cap drop, retail investors as a group suffered the maximum losses

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

View our latest analysis for TietoEVRY Oyj

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About TietoEVRY Oyj?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

We can see that TietoEVRY 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see TietoEVRY Oyj's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Our data indicates that hedge funds own 5.1% of TietoEVRY Oyj. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. The company's largest shareholder is Silchester International Investors LLP, with ownership of 15%. Solidium Oy is the second largest shareholder owning 11% of common stock, and Incentive AS holds about 5.1% of the company stock.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 17 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. 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 TietoEVRY Oyj

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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 TietoEVRY Oyj in their own names. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own €5.6m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 44% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with TietoEVRY Oyj .

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.