While institutions own 44% of Nomura Holdings, Inc. (TSE:8604), individual investors are its largest shareholders with 55% ownership

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Nomura Holdings indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 40% ownership
• Institutional ownership in Nomura Holdings is 44%

If you want to know who really controls Nomura Holdings, Inc. (TSE:8604), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 55% stake, individual investors possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Meanwhile, institutions make up 44% of the company’s shareholders. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders.

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

View our latest analysis for Nomura Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Nomura 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.

Nomura Holdings 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. 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 Nomura Holdings' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Nomura Holdings is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is BlackRock, Inc., with ownership of 8.5%. With 5.8% and 4.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management Co., Ltd. and Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders.

Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Nomura 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. 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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Nomura Holdings, Inc. in their own names. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own JP¥2.0b of stock. 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, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 55% of Nomura Holdings shares. 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.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Nomura Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Nomura Holdings that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.

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