Institutional investors are Mitsui Matsushima Holdings Co., Ltd.'s (TSE:1518) biggest bettors and were rewarded after last week's JP¥5.5b market cap gain

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Mitsui Matsushima Holdings implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• 53% of the business is held by the top 9 shareholders
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

A look at the shareholders of Mitsui Matsushima Holdings Co., Ltd. (TSE:1518) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 39% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Last week’s 15% gain means that institutional investors were on the positive end of the spectrum even as the company has shown strong longer-term trends. The one-year return on investment is currently 45% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Mitsui Matsushima Holdings.

View our latest analysis for Mitsui Matsushima Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Mitsui Matsushima Holdings?

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.

We can see that Mitsui Matsushima Holdings 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Mitsui Matsushima Holdings' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Mitsui Matsushima Holdings is not owned by hedge funds. Office Support Co. Ltd. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 17% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 9.2% and 4.6% of the stock.

We also observed that the top 9 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Mitsui Matsushima Holdings

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Mitsui Matsushima Holdings Co., Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just JP¥41b, and insiders have JP¥1.9b worth of shares, in their own names. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 30% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 26%, of the shares on issue. 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.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Mitsui Matsushima Holdings you should know about.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.