TomTom N.V.'s (AMS:TOM2) most bullish insider is CEO Harold C. Goddijn, and their holdings value went up by 6.6% last week

Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in TomTom's growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
• 51% of the business is held by the top 5 shareholders
• Institutions own 19% of TomTom

A look at the shareholders of TomTom N.V. (AMS:TOM2) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 51% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, insiders were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 6.6% gain.

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

See our latest analysis for TomTom

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About TomTom?

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 TomTom. 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 TomTom's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

TomTom is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Harold C. Goddijn with 12% of shares outstanding. Corinne Goddijn-Vigreux is the second largest shareholder owning 12% of common stock, and Peter-Frans Pauwels holds about 11% of the company stock. Interestingly, the second-largest shareholder, Corinne Goddijn-Vigreux is also Top Key Executive, again, pointing towards strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 51% of the company is controlled by the top 5 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

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. 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 TomTom

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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.

It seems that insiders own more than half the TomTom N.V. stock. This gives them a lot of power. That means insiders have a very meaningful €521m stake in this €1.0b business. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been selling any of their shares.

General Public Ownership

With a 29% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over TomTom. 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.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.