The recent 16% gain must have brightened Senior Key Executive German Kaplun's week, TMT Investments PLC's (LON:TMT) most bullish insider

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over TMT Investments implies vested interests in company growth
• 56% 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

To get a sense of who is truly in control of TMT Investments PLC (LON:TMT), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 76% to be precise, is individual insiders. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, insiders scored the highest last week as the company hit US$111m market cap following a 16% gain in the stock.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of TMT Investments.

View our latest analysis for TMT Investments

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About TMT Investments?

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

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in TMT Investments. Because actions speak louder than words, we consider it a good sign when insiders own a significant stake in a company. In TMT Investments' case, its Senior Key Executive, German Kaplun, is the largest shareholder, holding 26% of shares outstanding. With 16% and 14% of the shares outstanding respectively, Andrey Kareev and Artyom Iniutin are the second and third largest shareholders.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 3 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. 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 TMT Investments

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 TMT Investments PLC. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. So they have a US$85m stake in this US$111m 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

With a 12% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over TMT Investments. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 4.3%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the 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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for TMT Investments you should be aware of.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.