Despite recent sales, De'Longhi S.p.A. (BIT:DLG) insiders still hold the largest share with a 54% interest

Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in De'Longhi's growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
• The largest shareholder of the company is Giuseppe de' Longhi with a 54% stake
• Insiders have been selling lately

If you want to know who really controls De'Longhi S.p.A. (BIT:DLG), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 54% stake, individual insiders possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And insiders own the top position in the company’s share registry despite recent sales.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of De'Longhi.

Check out our latest analysis for De'Longhi

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About De'Longhi?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

We can see that De'Longhi does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 De'Longhi's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in De'Longhi. Our data suggests that Giuseppe de' Longhi, who is also the company's Top Key Executive, holds the most number of shares at 54%. 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. With 6.2% and 4.9% of the shares outstanding respectively, Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP and Mawer Investment Management Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders.

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

Insider Ownership Of De'Longhi

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. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our information suggests that insiders own more than half of De'Longhi S.p.A.. This gives them effective control of the company. Given it has a market cap of €4.2b, that means insiders have a whopping €2.3b worth of shares in their own names. Most would argue this is a positive, showing strong alignment with shareholders. You can click here to see if they have been selling down their stake.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 19% stake in De'Longhi. 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.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for De'Longhi 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.