Institutional investors control 64% of KB Financial Group Inc. (KRX:105560) and were rewarded last week after stock increased 3.6%

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, KB Financial Group's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• 50% of the business is held by the top 22 shareholders
• Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

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If you want to know who really controls KB Financial Group Inc. (KRX:105560), 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 64% to be precise, is institutions. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And things are looking up for institutional investors after the company gained ₩1.6t in market cap last week. The gains from last week would have further boosted the one-year return to shareholders which currently stand at 34%.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of KB Financial Group.

Check out our latest analysis for KB Financial Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About KB Financial Group?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in KB Financial Group. 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 KB Financial Group's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Hedge funds don't have many shares in KB Financial Group. Our data shows that National Pension Service is the largest shareholder with 8.7% of shares outstanding. With 8.7% and 6.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, Capital Research and Management Company and BlackRock, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 22 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of KB Financial Group

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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 KB Financial Group Inc.. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own ₩5.8b of stock. 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 34% stake in KB Financial Group. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand KB Financial Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for KB Financial Group you should know about.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.