Private companies own 21% of Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. (BIT:G) shares but individual investors control 52% of the company

Key Insights

• Assicurazioni Generali's significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 25 shareholders own 45% of the company
• Institutional ownership in Assicurazioni Generali is 13%

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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. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 52% to be precise, is individual investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Meanwhile, private companies make up 21% of the company’s shareholders.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Assicurazioni Generali, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Assicurazioni Generali

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Assicurazioni Generali?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

Assicurazioni Generali already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 Assicurazioni Generali, (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 Assicurazioni Generali. The company's largest shareholder is Mediobanca Banca di Credito Finanziario 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 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 Assicurazioni Generali

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 52% of Assicurazioni Generali. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

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 13% 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Assicurazioni Generali that you should be aware of.

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.