Institutional investors are Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Ltd.'s (KRX:000810) biggest bettors and were rewarded after last week's ₩956b market cap gain

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• 51% of the business is held by the top 14 shareholders
• Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

If you want to know who really controls Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Ltd. (KRX:000810), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 47% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And things are looking up for institutional investors after the company gained ₩956b in market cap last week. The one-year return on investment is currently 41% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance.

Check out our latest analysis for Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance?

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 Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance 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. 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 Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Samsung Life Insurance Co., Ltd. with 17% of shares outstanding. With 8.0% and 3.4% of the shares outstanding respectively, National Pension Service and Samsung Culture Foundation, Endowment Arm are the second and third largest shareholders.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 51% of the ownership is controlled by the top 14 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

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

Insider Ownership Of Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance

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 Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Ltd.. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own ₩13b 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 36% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 17% of Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance stock. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.