Institutional investors have a lot riding on Uchida Yoko Co., Ltd. (TSE:8057) with 43% ownership

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Uchida Yoko's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• The top 15 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

A look at the shareholders of Uchida Yoko Co., Ltd. (TSE:8057) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 43% 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.

And as as result, institutional investors reaped the most rewards after the company's stock price gained 12% last week. One-year return to shareholders is currently 11% and last week’s gain was the icing on the cake.

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

See our latest analysis for Uchida Yoko

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Uchida Yoko?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

We can see that Uchida Yoko 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. 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 Uchida Yoko's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

It looks like hedge funds own 8.0% of Uchida Yoko shares. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. Oasis Management Company Ltd. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 8.0% of shares outstanding. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management Co., Ltd. is the second largest shareholder owning 6.3% of common stock, and Tokio Marine Asset Management Co., Ltd. holds about 4.4% of the company stock.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 15 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

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 is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Uchida Yoko

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.

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.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Uchida Yoko Co., Ltd.. In their own names, insiders own JP¥921m worth of stock in the JP¥75b company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. 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 40% stake in Uchida Yoko. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 3.9%, of the Uchida Yoko stock. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

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.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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.