Retail investors account for 54% of Sankyo Co., Ltd.'s (TSE:6417) ownership, while institutions account for 31%

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Sankyo indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 42% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• 31% of Sankyo is held by Institutions

A look at the shareholders of Sankyo Co., Ltd. (TSE:6417) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 54% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And institutions on the other hand have a 31% ownership in the company. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Sankyo

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Sankyo?

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.

Sankyo already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 Sankyo's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Sankyo is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Hikari Tsushin, Inc., with ownership of 6.0%. Hideyuki Busujima is the second largest shareholder owning 5.5% of common stock, and BlackRock, Inc. holds about 4.5% of the company stock. Hideyuki Busujima, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Top Key Executive.

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. 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 Sankyo

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. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Sankyo Co., Ltd.. It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around JP¥43b worth of shares (at current prices). If you would like to explore the question of insider alignment, you can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 54% of Sankyo shares. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 6.0% of Sankyo. 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 example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Sankyo (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.

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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.