While institutions own 32% of Sime Darby Plantation Berhad (KLSE:SIMEPLT), sovereign wealth funds are its largest shareholders with 56% ownership

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by sovereign wealth funds in Sime Darby Plantation Berhad indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 56% of the company is held by a single shareholder (Permodalan Nasional Berhad)
• 32% of Sime Darby Plantation Berhad is held by Institutions

If you want to know who really controls Sime Darby Plantation Berhad (KLSE:SIMEPLT), 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 56% to be precise, is sovereign wealth funds. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And institutions on the other hand have a 32% ownership in the company. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Sime Darby Plantation Berhad, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Sime Darby Plantation Berhad

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Sime Darby Plantation Berhad?

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.

Sime Darby Plantation Berhad already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 Sime Darby Plantation Berhad's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Sime Darby Plantation Berhad. Our data shows that Permodalan Nasional Berhad is the largest shareholder with 56% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 14% and 6.7% of the stock.

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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Sime Darby Plantation Berhad

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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Sime Darby Plantation Berhad in their own names. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own RM85k worth of shares. Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 12% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Sime Darby Plantation Berhad. 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. Be aware that Sime Darby Plantation Berhad is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is potentially serious...

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.