Institutions profited after Allfunds Group plc's (AMS:ALLFG) market cap rose €227m last week but private companies profited the most

Key Insights

• Significant control over Allfunds Group by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 4 investors have a majority stake in the company with 53% ownership
• 33% of Allfunds Group is held by Institutions

A look at the shareholders of Allfunds Group plc (AMS:ALLFG) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 40% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While private companies were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week’s 7.9% price gain, institutions also received a 33% cut.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Allfunds Group, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for Allfunds Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Allfunds 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 Allfunds Group. 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. 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 Allfunds Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Allfunds Group is not owned by hedge funds. LHC1 Limited is currently the company's largest shareholder with 35% of shares outstanding. BNPP Asset Management Holding is the second largest shareholder owning 6.5% of common stock, and BNP Paribas SA holds about 6.0% of the company stock.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 4 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

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 Allfunds Group

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.

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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Allfunds Group plc in their own names. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own €510k worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. 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 20% stake in Allfunds Group. 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

We can see that Private Companies own 40%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 6.0% of Allfunds Group stock. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Allfunds Group that you should be aware of.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.