With 88% ownership of the shares, Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) is heavily dominated by institutional owners

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida's stock prices are sensitive to their trading actions.
• The top 11 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

Every investor in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 88% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Because institutional owners have a huge pool of resources and liquidity, their investing decisions tend to carry a great deal of weight, especially with individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida.

Check out our latest analysis for Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is BlackRock, Inc., with ownership of 15%. The second and third largest shareholders are Capital Research and Management Company and The Vanguard Group, Inc., with an equal amount of shares to their name at 6.8%.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 51% of the ownership is controlled by the top 11 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

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. 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 Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth US$33m. Most would see this as a real positive. 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

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 10% stake in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.