Institutional investors control 43% of Fastighets AB Balder (publ) (STO:BALD B) and were rewarded last week after stock increased 3.9%

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Fastighets AB Balder implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• The top 4 shareholders own 55% of the company
• Recent sales by insiders

Every investor in Fastighets AB Balder (publ) (STO:BALD B) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 43% to be precise, is institutions. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Last week’s 3.9% gain means that institutional investors were on the positive end of the spectrum even as the company has shown strong longer-term trends. The one-year return on investment is currently 85% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Fastighets AB Balder.

View our latest analysis for Fastighets AB Balder

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Fastighets AB Balder?

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 Fastighets AB Balder 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. 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 Fastighets AB Balder's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Fastighets AB Balder. Erik Selin Fastigheter AB is currently the largest shareholder, with 34% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 8.4% and 6.5% of the stock.

On looking further, we found that 55% of the shares are owned by the top 4 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Fastighets AB Balder

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Fastighets AB Balder (publ). We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. It is a very large company, so it would be surprising to see insiders own a large proportion of the company. Though their holding amounts to less than 1%, we can see that board members collectively own kr603m worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

With a 15% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Fastighets AB Balder. 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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 42%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Fastighets AB Balder better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Fastighets AB Balder is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is potentially serious...

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.

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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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com