Private companies are TAIWAN CHELIC Co., Ltd.'s (TWSE:4555) biggest owners and were rewarded after market cap rose by NT$609m last week

Key Insights

• TAIWAN CHELIC's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 5 investors have a majority stake in the company with 53% ownership
• Insider ownership in TAIWAN CHELIC is 24%

If you want to know who really controls TAIWAN CHELIC Co., Ltd. (TWSE:4555), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 40% to be precise, is private companies. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, private companies collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit NT$4.5b market cap following a 16% gain in the stock.

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

Check out our latest analysis for TAIWAN CHELIC

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About TAIWAN CHELIC?

We don't tend to see institutional investors holding stock of companies that are very risky, thinly traded, or very small. Though we do sometimes see large companies without institutions on the register, it's not particularly common.

There could be various reasons why no institutions own shares in a company. Typically, small, newly listed companies don't attract much attention from fund managers, because it would not be possible for large fund managers to build a meaningful position in the company. On the other hand, it's always possible that professional investors are avoiding a company because they don't think it's the best place for their money. TAIWAN CHELIC's earnings and revenue track record (below) may not be compelling to institutional investors -- or they simply might not have looked at the business closely.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in TAIWAN CHELIC. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is ZhengXiong Investment Co., Ltd. with 15% of shares outstanding. With 13% and 9.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, Barton Yu and ShangBo Investment Co., Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders. Barton Yu, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 53% of the company is controlled by the top 5 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of TAIWAN CHELIC

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 TAIWAN CHELIC Co., Ltd.. Insiders own NT$1.1b worth of shares in the NT$4.5b company. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 35% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over TAIWAN CHELIC. 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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 40%, of the shares on issue. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand TAIWAN CHELIC better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that TAIWAN CHELIC is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.