After a year of 3.7% returns, Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd.'s (TSE:2502) share price drop last week may have less of an impact on institutional investors

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Asahi Group Holdings' stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• The top 25 shareholders own 47% of the company
• Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. (TSE:2502), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 56% to be precise, is institutions. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Losing money on investments is something no shareholder enjoys, least of all institutional investors who saw their holdings value drop by 3.5% last week. However, the 3.7% one-year return to shareholders might have softened the blow. But they would probably be wary of future losses.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Asahi Group Holdings, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for Asahi Group Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Asahi Group 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 Asahi Group Holdings does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Asahi Group Holdings, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Asahi Group Holdings is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that BlackRock, Inc. is the largest shareholder with 6.3% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 5.6% and 3.6% of the stock.

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.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Asahi Group 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.

Our information suggests that Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. insiders own under 1% of the company. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own JP¥163m worth of shares. Arguably recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 44% stake in Asahi Group Holdings. 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.

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. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Asahi Group Holdings .

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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