With 68% ownership of the shares, MOL Magyar Olaj- és Gázipari Nyilvánosan Muködo Részvénytársaság (BUSE:MOL) is heavily dominated by institutional owners

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, MOL Magyar Olaj- és Gázipari Nyilvánosan Muködo Részvénytársaság's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• 51% of the business is held by the top 5 shareholders
• Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

If you want to know who really controls MOL Magyar Olaj- és Gázipari Nyilvánosan Muködo Részvénytársaság (BUSE:MOL), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 68% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Since institutional have access to huge amounts of capital, their market moves tend to receive a lot of scrutiny by retail or individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of MOL Magyar Olaj- és Gázipari Nyilvánosan Muködo Részvénytársaság, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for MOL Magyar Olaj- és Gázipari Nyilvánosan Muködo Részvénytársaság

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About MOL Magyar Olaj- és Gázipari Nyilvánosan Muködo Részvénytársaság?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in MOL Magyar Olaj- és Gázipari Nyilvánosan Muködo Részvénytársaság. 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 MOL Magyar Olaj- és Gázipari Nyilvánosan Muködo Részvénytársaság's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. MOL Magyar Olaj- és Gázipari Nyilvánosan Muködo Részvénytársaság is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Mol New Europe Foundation, Endownment Arm with 14% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are Mathias Corvinus Collegium Foundation, Endowment Arm and Corvinus University of Budapest, Endowment Arm, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 13%.

On looking further, we found that 51% of the shares are owned by the top 5 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of MOL Magyar Olaj- és Gázipari Nyilvánosan Muködo Részvénytársaság

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 MOL Magyar Olaj- és Gázipari Nyilvánosan Muködo Részvénytársaság. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own Ft4.0b worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 20% 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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 10%, 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand MOL Magyar Olaj- és Gázipari Nyilvánosan Muködo Részvénytársaság 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 MOL Magyar Olaj- és Gázipari Nyilvánosan Muködo Részvénytársaság (at least 1 which is a bit unpleasant) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.

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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.