Retail investors among Maisons du Monde S.A.'s (EPA:MDM) largest stockholders and were hit after last week's 12% price drop

Key Insights

• Maisons du Monde's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 2 shareholders own 51% of the company
• 19% of Maisons du Monde is held by Institutions

A look at the shareholders of Maisons du Monde S.A. (EPA:MDM) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 30% to be precise, is retail investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, retail investors as a group endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by €19m.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Maisons du Monde.

See our latest analysis for Maisons du Monde

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Maisons du Monde?

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.

Maisons du Monde already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Maisons du Monde, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Our data indicates that hedge funds own 24% of Maisons du Monde. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Majorelle Investments S.À R.L. with 27% of shares outstanding. Teleios Capital Partners LLC is the second largest shareholder owning 24% of common stock, and FMR LLC holds about 9.1% of the company stock.

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.

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 Maisons du Monde

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Maisons du Monde S.A.. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It appears that the board holds about €252k worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of €147m. We generally like to see a board more invested. However it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 30% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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 27%, of the shares on issue. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Maisons du Monde .

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.

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.