EssilorLuxottica Société anonyme's (EPA:EL) largest shareholders are retail investors with 37% ownership, private companies own 34%

Key Insights

• EssilorLuxottica Société anonyme's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 12 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Institutional ownership in EssilorLuxottica Société anonyme is 28%

If you want to know who really controls EssilorLuxottica Société anonyme (EPA:EL), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 37% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Private companies, on the other hand, account for 34% of the company's stockholders.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of EssilorLuxottica Société anonyme, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for EssilorLuxottica Société anonyme

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About EssilorLuxottica Société anonyme?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in EssilorLuxottica Société anonyme. 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 EssilorLuxottica Société anonyme's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

EssilorLuxottica Société anonyme is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Delfin S.à R.L. is the largest shareholder with 32% of shares outstanding. With 4.8% and 2.6% of the shares outstanding respectively, Capital Research and Management Company and The Vanguard Group, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 12 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that 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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of EssilorLuxottica Société anonyme

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 information suggests that EssilorLuxottica Société anonyme insiders own under 1% of the company. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. 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 €198m worth of shares (at current prices). In this sort of situation, it can be more interesting to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 37% stake in EssilorLuxottica Société anonyme. 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.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 34%, of the company's shares. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand EssilorLuxottica Société anonyme better, we need to consider many other factors.

I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.