Institutions profited after Hiwin Technologies Corporation's (TWSE:2049) market cap rose NT$7.1b last week but individual investors profited the most

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Hiwin Technologies indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 18 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Insiders own 13% of Hiwin Technologies

If you want to know who really controls Hiwin Technologies Corporation (TWSE:2049), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 43% stake, individual investors possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Following a 9.2% increase in the stock price last week, individual investors profited the most, but institutions who own 34% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

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

See our latest analysis for Hiwin Technologies

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hiwin Technologies?

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.

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

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Hiwin Technologies. Hiwin Investment and Holding Corp. is currently the largest shareholder, with 8.1% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 5.6% and 4.3%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 18 shareholders have a combined ownership of 51% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

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

Insider Ownership Of Hiwin Technologies

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.

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 maintain a significant holding in Hiwin Technologies Corporation. Insiders own NT$11b worth of shares in the NT$84b company. That's quite meaningful. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 43% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 9.4%, of the Hiwin Technologies stock. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.

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.

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

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.