Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M. (TLV:LUMI) most popular amongst retail investors who own 52% of the shares, institutions hold 48%

Key Insights

• Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 45% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• 48% of Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M is held by Institutions

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M. (TLV:LUMI), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 52% to be precise, is retail investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And institutions on the other hand have a 48% ownership in the company. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M. 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 Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M. Phoenix Excellence Pension and Provident Ltd. is currently the largest shareholder, with 5.3% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are Meitav Investment House Ltd and Menora Mivtachim Provident Funds, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 5.1%.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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 Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M

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 Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M.. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own ₪10m worth of shares. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 52% of Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M shares. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

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. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M that you should be aware of before investing here.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.