Recent uptick might appease Bravida Holding AB (publ) (STO:BRAV) institutional owners after losing 29% over the past year

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Bravida Holding's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• The top 8 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Recent sales by insiders

Every investor in Bravida Holding AB (publ) (STO:BRAV) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 80% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Last week's kr969m market cap gain would probably be appreciated by institutional investors, especially after a year of 29% losses.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Bravida Holding.

See our latest analysis for Bravida Holding

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Bravida Holding?

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.

We can see that Bravida Holding does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Bravida Holding, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Bravida Holding. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. is currently the largest shareholder, with 10% of shares outstanding. Swedbank Robur Fonder AB is the second largest shareholder owning 9.5% of common stock, and Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund (AP4) holds about 7.5% of the company stock.

We also observed that the top 8 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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 Bravida Holding

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.

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.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Bravida Holding AB (publ). It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around kr253m worth of shares (at current prices). If you would like to explore the question of insider alignment, you can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 18% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Bravida Holding. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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 Bravida Holding is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.