After the recent decline, i-mobile Co.,Ltd. (TSE:6535) Top Key Executive Toshihiko Tanaka's holdings have lost 13% of their value

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over i-mobileLtd implies vested interests in company growth
• 57% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of i-mobile Co.,Ltd. (TSE:6535), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 59% to be precise, is individual insiders. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And last week, insiders endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 13%.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of i-mobileLtd.

Check out our latest analysis for i-mobileLtd

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About i-mobileLtd?

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 i-mobileLtd 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at i-mobileLtd's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in i-mobileLtd. From our data, we infer that the largest shareholder is Toshihiko Tanaka (who also holds the title of Top Key Executive) with 29% of shares outstanding. Its usually considered a good sign when insiders own a significant number of shares in the company, and in this case, we're glad to see a company insider play the role of a key stakeholder. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 28% and 1.6% of the stock. Interestingly, the second-largest shareholder, Tetsuya Noguchi is also Chief Executive Officer, again, pointing towards strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 2 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 57% stake.

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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of i-mobileLtd

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

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 information suggests that insiders own more than half of i-mobile Co.,Ltd.. This gives them effective control of the company. That means they own JP¥16b worth of shares in the JP¥26b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish todiscover (for free) if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 33% 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.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.

I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.

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.