Hongkong Land Holdings Limited's (SGX:H78) top owners are public companies with 54% stake, while 34% is held by individual investors

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by public companies in Hongkong Land Holdings indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 54% of the company is held by a single shareholder (Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited)
• Insiders have been selling lately

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Hongkong Land Holdings Limited (SGX:H78), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that public companies own the lion's share in the company with 54% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And individual investors on the other hand have a 34% ownership in the company.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Hongkong Land Holdings.

See our latest analysis for Hongkong Land Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hongkong Land Holdings?

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

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Hongkong Land Holdings. The company's largest shareholder is Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited, with ownership of 54%. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. With 2.7% and 2.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, First Eagle Investment Management, LLC and The Vanguard Group, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. 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 Hongkong Land Holdings

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Hongkong Land Holdings Limited. 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 US$7.0m worth of shares (at current prices). In this sort of situation, it can be more interesting to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 34% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 54% of Hongkong Land Holdings stock. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks for example - Hongkong Land Holdings has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

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.