With a 50% stake, Virbac SA (EPA:VIRP) insiders have a lot riding on the company

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Virbac implies vested interests in company growth
• Marie-Helene Dick-Madelpuech owns 50% of the company
• Institutions own 20% of Virbac

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If you want to know who really controls Virbac SA (EPA:VIRP), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 50% to be precise, is individual insiders. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

So it follows, every decision made by insiders of Virbac regarding the company's future would be crucial to them.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Virbac

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Virbac?

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.

Virbac 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. 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 Virbac's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Virbac. Marie-Helene Dick-Madelpuech is currently the largest shareholder, with 50% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 2.0% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 1.6% by the third-largest shareholder.

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 Virbac

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.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of Virbac SA. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. That means insiders have a very meaningful €1.4b stake in this €2.9b business. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to discover if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 29% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Virbac. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

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.