individual investors who own 50% along with institutions invested in Flow Traders Ltd. (AMS:FLOW) saw increase in their holdings value last week

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Flow Traders indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 12 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Insider ownership in Flow Traders is 23%

If you want to know who really controls Flow Traders Ltd. (AMS:FLOW), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 50% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Individual investors gained the most after market cap touched €830m last week, while institutions who own 27% also benefitted.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Flow Traders

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Flow Traders?

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.

Flow Traders 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. 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 Flow Traders, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Flow Traders is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is JPMorgan Chase & Co, Brokerage and Securities Investments with 13% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 13% and 10%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 12 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

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 Flow Traders

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Flow Traders Ltd.. Insiders have a €194m stake in this €830m business. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 50% of Flow Traders. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Flow Traders better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - Flow Traders has 1 warning sign we think 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.