Both retail investors who control a good portion of Value Partners Group Limited (HKG:806) along with institutions must be dismayed after last week's 11% decrease

Key Insights

• Value Partners Group's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 51% of the business is held by the top 5 shareholders
• Insiders have sold recently

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Value Partners Group Limited (HKG:806), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 48% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

While institutions who own 30% came under pressure after market cap dropped to HK$2.7b last week,retail investors took the most losses.

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

View our latest analysis for Value Partners Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Value Partners Group?

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.

Value Partners Group 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. 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 Value Partners Group's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Value Partners Group. GF Fund Management Co., Ltd. is currently the largest shareholder, with 20% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 14% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 8.9% by the third-largest shareholder. Interestingly, the bottom two of the top three shareholders also hold the title of Co-Chief Investment Officer and Chairman Emeritus, respectively, suggesting that these insiders have a personal stake in the company.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 5 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

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 is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Value Partners Group

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Value Partners Group Limited. Insiders have a HK$619m stake in this HK$2.7b business. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 48% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Value Partners Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Value Partners Group , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.