Sansei Technologies, Inc.'s (TSE:6357) 11% loss last week hit both individual investors who own 55% as well as institutions

Key Insights

• Significant control over Sansei Technologies by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 45% ownership
• Institutions own 20% of Sansei Technologies

If you want to know who really controls Sansei Technologies, Inc. (TSE:6357), 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 55% to be precise, is individual investors. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While the holdings of individual investors took a hit after last week’s 11% price drop, institutions with their 20% holdings also suffered.

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

See our latest analysis for Sansei Technologies

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Sansei Technologies?

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.

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

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Sansei Technologies. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Asset Management Arm with 12% of shares outstanding. With 7.0% and 4.5% of the shares outstanding respectively, Maruichi Steel Tube Ltd. and Keihanshin Building Co., Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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. 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 Sansei Technologies

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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Sansei Technologies, Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just JP¥23b, and insiders have JP¥1.5b worth of shares, in their own names. This shows at least some alignment, but we usually like to see larger insider holdings. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 55% stake in Sansei Technologies, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 19% of Sansei Technologies. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

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 - Sansei Technologies has 2 warning signs (and 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) we think you should know about.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.