retail investors who own 52% along with institutions invested in MITSUI-SOKO HOLDINGS Co., Ltd. (TSE:9302) saw increase in their holdings value last week

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in MITSUI-SOKO HOLDINGS indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 46% ownership
• 44% of MITSUI-SOKO HOLDINGS is held by Institutions

If you want to know who really controls MITSUI-SOKO HOLDINGS Co., Ltd. (TSE:9302), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 52% to be precise, is retail investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Following a 5.5% increase in the stock price last week, retail investors profited the most, but institutions who own 44% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of MITSUI-SOKO HOLDINGS.

View our latest analysis for MITSUI-SOKO HOLDINGS

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About MITSUI-SOKO 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.

MITSUI-SOKO HOLDINGS already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 MITSUI-SOKO HOLDINGS' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in MITSUI-SOKO HOLDINGS. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Taiju Life Insurance Company Limited, Asset Management Arm with 6.3% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 5.6% and 3.2%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

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.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of MITSUI-SOKO 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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 MITSUI-SOKO HOLDINGS Co., Ltd.. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. 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¥329m 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 -- including retail investors -- own 52% of MITSUI-SOKO HOLDINGS. 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:

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 MITSUI-SOKO HOLDINGS .

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.