The recent 4.0% gain must have brightened Top Key Executive Raamdeo Agrawal's week, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited's (NSE:MOTILALOFS) most bullish insider

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Motilal Oswal Financial Services implies vested interests in company growth
• The top 2 shareholders own 67% of the company
• Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited (NSE:MOTILALOFS), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 75% to be precise, is individual insiders. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, insiders scored the highest last week as the company hit ₹453b market cap following a 4.0% gain in the stock.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

View our latest analysis for Motilal Oswal Financial Services

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Motilal Oswal Financial Services?

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 Motilal Oswal Financial Services. 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 Motilal Oswal Financial Services' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Motilal Oswal Financial Services. Our data suggests that Raamdeo Agrawal, who is also the company's Top Key Executive, holds the most number of shares at 35%. When an insider holds a sizeable amount of a company's stock, investors consider it as a positive sign because it suggests that insiders are willing to have their wealth tied up in the future of the company. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 33% and 5.1% of the stock. Interestingly, the second-largest shareholder, Motilal Oswal is also Chief Executive Officer, again, pointing towards strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Motilal Oswal Financial Services

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. That means insiders have a very meaningful ₹341b stake in this ₹453b business. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been selling any of their shares.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 16% stake in Motilal Oswal Financial Services. 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 Motilal Oswal Financial Services better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Motilal Oswal Financial Services (including 1 which is a bit concerning) .

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.