Mao Geping Cosmetics Co., Ltd.'s (HKG:1318) most bullish insider is Top Key Executive Geping Mao, and their holdings value went up by 6.0% last week

Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Mao Geping Cosmetics' growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
• 57% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders
• Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

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If you want to know who really controls Mao Geping Cosmetics Co., Ltd. (HKG:1318), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 78% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Clearly, insiders benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by HK$2.9b last week.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Mao Geping Cosmetics.

View our latest analysis for Mao Geping Cosmetics

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Mao Geping Cosmetics?

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.

Institutions have a very small stake in Mao Geping Cosmetics. That indicates that the company is on the radar of some funds, but it isn't particularly popular with professional investors at the moment. If the business gets stronger from here, we could see a situation where more institutions are keen to buy. It is not uncommon to see a big share price rise if multiple institutional investors are trying to buy into a stock at the same time. So check out the historic earnings trajectory, below, but keep in mind it's the future that counts most.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Mao Geping Cosmetics. Because actions speak louder than words, we consider it a good sign when insiders own a significant stake in a company. In Mao Geping Cosmetics' case, its Top Key Executive, Geping Mao, is the largest shareholder, holding 36% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 11% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 9.9% by the third-largest shareholder. Interestingly, the second and third-largest shareholders also happen to be the Top Key Executive and Member of the Board of Directors, respectively. This once again signifies considerable insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders. In addition, we found that Hongquan Song, the CEO has 4.3% of the shares allocated to their name.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 3 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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 Mao Geping Cosmetics

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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of Mao Geping Cosmetics Co., Ltd.. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. Insiders own HK$40b worth of shares in the HK$52b company. That's extraordinary! 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 18% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Mao Geping Cosmetics. 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

It seems that Private Companies own 3.1%, of the Mao Geping Cosmetics stock. 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:

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. Take risks for example - Mao Geping Cosmetics has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

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.

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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.