Landmark Cars Limited's (NSE:LANDMARK) insiders are still the largest shareholders with 59% stake despite recent sales

Key Insights

• Landmark Cars' significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• 51% of the company is held by a single shareholder (Sanjay Thakker)
• Insiders have been selling lately

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Landmark Cars Limited (NSE:LANDMARK), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 59% to be precise, is individual insiders. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Even though insiders have sold shares recently, the group owns the most numbers of shares in the company and as a result benefitted the most after market cap rose ₹3.0b last week.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Landmark Cars.

See our latest analysis for Landmark Cars

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Landmark Cars?

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.

We can see that Landmark Cars does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Landmark Cars' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Landmark Cars. Sanjay Thakker is currently the largest shareholder, with 51% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. With 3.8% and 3.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Limited and Nippon Life India Asset Management Limited are the second and third largest shareholders. In addition, we found that Paras Somani, the CEO has 0.9% of the shares allocated to their name.

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. There is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Landmark Cars

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 information suggests that insiders own more than half of Landmark Cars Limited. This gives them effective control of the company. That means they own ₹18b worth of shares in the ₹31b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would argue this is a positive, showing strong alignment with shareholders. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 15% stake in Landmark Cars. 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.

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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Landmark Cars (at least 1 which is potentially serious) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.