While public companies own 35% of McDonald's Holdings Company (Japan), Ltd. (TSE:2702), retail investors are its largest shareholders with 48% ownership

Key Insights

• Significant control over McDonald's Holdings Company (Japan) by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 22 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Institutional ownership in McDonald's Holdings Company (Japan) is 16%

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If you want to know who really controls McDonald's Holdings Company (Japan), Ltd. (TSE:2702), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 48% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Meanwhile, public companies make up 35% of the company’s shareholders.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of McDonald's Holdings Company (Japan).

View our latest analysis for McDonald's Holdings Company (Japan)

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About McDonald's Holdings Company (Japan)?

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.

McDonald's Holdings Company (Japan) already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 McDonald's Holdings Company (Japan), (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

McDonald's Holdings Company (Japan) is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that McDonald's Corporation is the largest shareholder with 35% of shares outstanding. State Street Global Advisors, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 3.6% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 2.6% of the company stock.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 22 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that 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. There is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of McDonald's Holdings Company (Japan)

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.

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 suggests that insiders own under 1% of McDonald's Holdings Company (Japan), Ltd. in their own names. It is a pretty big company, so it would be possible for board members to own a meaningful interest in the company, without owning much of a proportional interest. In this case, they own around JP¥23m worth of shares (at current prices). It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 48% 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.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 35% of McDonald's Holdings Company (Japan) stock. 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.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.