Private companies account for 49% of LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton, Société Européenne's (EPA:MC) ownership, while individual investors account for 31%

Key Insights

• LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton Société Européenne's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 2 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Institutions own 19% of LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton Société Européenne

This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality.

To get a sense of who is truly in control of LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton, Société Européenne (EPA:MC), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 49% stake, private companies possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And individual investors on the other hand have a 31% ownership in the company.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton Société Européenne.

See our latest analysis for LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton Société Européenne

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton Société Européenne?

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.

LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton Société Européenne already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton Société Européenne, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton Société Européenne is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Financière Agache Société Anonyme with 48% of shares outstanding. With 2.5% and 2.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton Société Européenne

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton, Société Européenne in their own names. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. It is a very large company, so it would be surprising to see insiders own a large proportion of the company. Though their holding amounts to less than 1%, we can see that board members collectively own €1.3b worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 31% stake in LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton Société Européenne. 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 Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 49%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

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 1 warning sign we've spotted with LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton Société Européenne .

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.