After losing 15% in the past year, Airtac International Group (TWSE:1590) institutional owners must be relieved by the recent gain

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Airtac International Group implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• A total of 19 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

Every investor in Airtac International Group (TWSE:1590) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 45% to be precise, is institutions. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Institutional investors would appreciate the 4.8% increase in share price last week, given their one-year losses have totalled a disappointing 15%.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Airtac International Group.

See our latest analysis for Airtac International Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Airtac International Group?

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.

We can see that Airtac International Group 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 Airtac International Group's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Airtac International Group is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Yhz Ltd., with ownership of 5.4%. With 5.2% and 3.8% of the shares outstanding respectively, Express Brilliant Ltd and Fubon Life Insurance Co., Ltd., Asset Management Arm are the second and third largest shareholders. Furthermore, CEO Shih-Chung Wang is the owner of 2.6% of the company's shares.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 19 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over 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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Airtac International Group

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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 some shares in Airtac International Group. It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around NT$15b 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 34% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Airtac International Group. 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 12%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Airtac International Group , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.