private companies who own 55% along with institutions invested in Affle (India) Limited (NSE:AFFLE) saw increase in their holdings value last week

Key Insights

• Significant control over Affle (India) by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 2 investors have a majority stake in the company with 55% ownership
• 29% of Affle (India) is held by Institutions

Every investor in Affle (India) Limited (NSE:AFFLE) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 55% to be precise, is private companies. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Following a 5.4% increase in the stock price last week, private companies profited the most, but institutions who own 29% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Affle (India), beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for Affle (India)

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Affle (India)?

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 Affle (India). 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. 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 Affle (India), (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Affle (India) is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Affle Holdings Private Limited with 41% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 14% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 6.4% by the third-largest shareholder.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 2 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 55% stake.

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 are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Affle (India)

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 Affle (India) Limited. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own ₹64m 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

With a 14% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Affle (India). While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 55%, of the shares on issue. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Affle (India) better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Affle (India) is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.