With 41% ownership in Moltiply Group S.p.A. (BIT:MOL), institutional investors have a lot riding on the business

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Moltiply Group's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• A total of 2 investors have a majority stake in the company with 60% ownership
• Insiders have sold recently

Every investor in Moltiply Group S.p.A. (BIT:MOL) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 41% to be precise, is institutions. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And things are looking up for institutional investors after the company gained €75m in market cap last week. The one-year return on investment is currently 31% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Moltiply Group.

Check out our latest analysis for Moltiply Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Moltiply Group?

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

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Moltiply Group. Alma Ventures S.A. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 36% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 24% and 4.3% of the stock. Furthermore, CEO Alessandro Alvaro Fracassi is the owner of 0.8% of the company's shares.

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 60% stake.

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 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 Moltiply Group

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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Moltiply Group S.p.A.. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own €34m worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 16% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Moltiply Group. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 40%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

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. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Moltiply Group (including 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) .

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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.