Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A.'s (BIT:G) largest shareholders are individual investors with 49% ownership, private companies own 21%

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Assicurazioni Generali indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 48% ownership
• 13% of Assicurazioni Generali is held by Institutions

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If you want to know who really controls Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. (BIT:G), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 49% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And private companies on the other hand have a 21% ownership in the company.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Assicurazioni Generali.

View our latest analysis for Assicurazioni Generali

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Assicurazioni Generali?

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 Assicurazioni Generali 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. 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 Assicurazioni Generali'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 Assicurazioni Generali. The company's largest shareholder is Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A., with ownership of 13%. With 10% and 6.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, Delfin S.à R.L. and Finanziaria Italia 2005 Societa Per Azioni are the second and third largest shareholders.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

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 Assicurazioni Generali

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 data cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. Given we are not picking up on insider ownership, we may have missing data. Therefore, it would be interesting to assess the CEO compensation and tenure, here.

General Public Ownership

With a 49% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Assicurazioni Generali. 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.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 21%, of the company's shares. 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.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 17% of Assicurazioni Generali. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

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. Take risks for example - Assicurazioni Generali has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

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.