retail investors who own 47% along with institutions invested in Mersen S.A. (EPA:MRN) saw increase in their holdings value last week

Key Insights

• Mersen's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 48% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Institutions own 40% of Mersen

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Every investor in Mersen S.A. (EPA:MRN) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 47% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

While retail investors were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week’s 7.4% price gain, institutions also received a 40% cut.

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

See our latest analysis for Mersen

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Mersen?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

We can see that Mersen 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Mersen's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Mersen. Our data shows that Bpifrance Participations SA is the largest shareholder with 11% of shares outstanding. With 5.0% and 4.8% of the shares outstanding respectively, Janus Henderson Group plc and Amiral Gestion 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 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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Mersen

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

Our information suggests that Mersen S.A. insiders own under 1% of the company. It seems the board members have no more than €2.0m worth of shares in the €687m company. Many tend to prefer to see a board with bigger shareholdings. A good next step might be to take a look at this free summary of insider buying and selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 47% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Mersen. 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.

Private Equity Ownership

With an ownership of 11%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Mersen better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for Mersen that you should be aware of.

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.