MediPal Holdings Corporation's (TSE:7459) market cap touched JP¥539b last week, benefiting both individual investors who own 57% as well as institutions

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in MediPal Holdings indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 40% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Institutional ownership in MediPal Holdings is 38%

Every investor in MediPal Holdings Corporation (TSE:7459) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 57% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Individual investors gained the most after market cap touched JP¥539b last week, while institutions who own 38% also benefitted.

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

See our latest analysis for MediPal Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About MediPal 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.

We can see that MediPal Holdings does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 MediPal Holdings, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in MediPal Holdings. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Silchester International Investors LLP with 13% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 3.5% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 3.4% by the third-largest shareholder.

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 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 MediPal Holdings

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of MediPal Holdings Corporation. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own JP¥1.0b worth of shares. 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, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 57% stake in MediPal Holdings, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand MediPal Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

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