Bleecker Société Anonyme's (EPA:BLEE) Chairman of Management Board Muriel Marcilhacy-Giraud is the most upbeat insider, and their holdings increased by 12% last week

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Bleecker Société Anonyme implies vested interests in company growth
• 55% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

A look at the shareholders of Bleecker Société Anonyme (EPA:BLEE) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 70% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, insiders scored the highest last week as the company hit €163m market cap following a 12% gain in the stock.

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

See our latest analysis for Bleecker Société Anonyme

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Bleecker Société Anonyme?

Small companies that are not very actively traded often lack institutional investors, but it's less common to see large companies without them.

There are many reasons why a company might not have any institutions on the share registry. It may be hard for institutions to buy large amounts of shares, if liquidity (the amount of shares traded each day) is low. If the company has not needed to raise capital, institutions might lack the opportunity to build a position. Alternatively, there might be something about the company that has kept institutional investors away. Bleecker Société Anonyme's earnings and revenue track record (below) may not be compelling to institutional investors -- or they simply might not have looked at the business closely.

Bleecker Société Anonyme is not owned by hedge funds. Our data suggests that Muriel Marcilhacy-Giraud, who is also the company's Chairman of Management Board, holds the most number of shares at 19%. When an insider holds a sizeable amount of a company's stock, investors consider it as a positive sign because it suggests that insiders are willing to have their wealth tied up in the future of the company. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 19% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 17% by the third-largest shareholder. Interestingly, the second-largest shareholder, Philippe Bucheton is also Chief Executive Officer, again, pointing towards strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 55% stake.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Bleecker Société Anonyme

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 information suggests that insiders own more than half of Bleecker Société Anonyme. This gives them effective control of the company. So they have a €114m stake in this €163m business. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 14% stake in Bleecker 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

We can see that Private Companies own 16%, 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Be aware that Bleecker Société Anonyme is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 2 of those are a bit concerning...

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.