Insiders of Lifco AB (publ) (STO:LIFCO B) must be frustrated after market cap dropped kr5.9b since recent purchases

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Lifco implies vested interests in company growth
• The largest shareholder of the company is Carl Bennet with a 50% stake
• Insiders have been buying lately

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Every investor in Lifco AB (publ) (STO:LIFCO B) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 51% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

A quick look at our data suggests that insiders have been buying shares in the company recently. So the news of stock price falling by 3.5% is not something they might have been expecting soon after purchasing shares.

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

See our latest analysis for Lifco

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Lifco?

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.

Lifco already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 Lifco, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Lifco is not owned by hedge funds. Carl Bennet is currently the company's largest shareholder with 50% of shares outstanding. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 5.2% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 3.7% by the third-largest shareholder.

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 Lifco

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 information suggests that insiders own more than half of Lifco AB (publ). This gives them effective control of the company. Given it has a market cap of kr164b, that means insiders have a whopping kr83b worth of shares in their own names. 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

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 15% stake in Lifco. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

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. Be aware that Lifco is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.