JAPAN POST BANK Co., Ltd.'s (TSE:7182) largest shareholders are public companies who were rewarded as market cap surged JP¥202b last week

Key Insights

• JAPAN POST BANK's significant public companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 50% of the company is held by a single shareholder (Japan Post Holdings Co., Ltd.)
• 12% of JAPAN POST BANK is held by Institutions

We've discovered 1 warning sign about JAPAN POST BANK. View them for free.

To get a sense of who is truly in control of JAPAN POST BANK Co., Ltd. (TSE:7182), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 50% stake, public companies 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).

Clearly, public companies benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by JP¥202b last week.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of JAPAN POST BANK, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for JAPAN POST BANK

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About JAPAN POST BANK?

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 JAPAN POST BANK does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 JAPAN POST BANK's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

JAPAN POST BANK is not owned by hedge funds. Japan Post Holdings Co., Ltd. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 50% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. With 1.7% and 1.6% of the shares outstanding respectively, BlackRock, Inc. and Nomura Asset Management Co., 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 JAPAN POST BANK

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.

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.

Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of JAPAN POST BANK Co., Ltd. in their own names. It is a very large company, so it would be surprising to see insiders own a large proportion of the company. Though their holding amounts to less than 1%, we can see that board members collectively own JP¥17b worth of shares (at current prices). In this sort of situation, it can be more interesting to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 38% stake in JAPAN POST BANK. 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 50% of the JAPAN POST BANK shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

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. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for JAPAN POST BANK that you should be aware of.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.