Retail investors account for 43% of Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings Inc.'s (TSE:2579) ownership, while institutions account for 30%

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 15 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Institutional ownership in Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings is 30%

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A look at the shareholders of Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings Inc. (TSE:2579) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 43% 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 30% ownership in the company. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings 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 Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is The Coca-Cola Company with 19% of shares outstanding. With 5.0% and 3.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, Goldman Sachs Group, Investment Banking and Securities Investments and The Vanguard Group, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 15 shareholders have a combined ownership of 51% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings

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.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings Inc.. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own JP¥41m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. 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-- including retail investors -- own 43% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 4.7%, of the Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 23% of the Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings shares on issue. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings that you should be aware of.

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.