Institutions along with individual investors who hold considerable shares inUnion Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNB) come under pressure; lose 12% of holdings value

Key Insights

• Significant control over Union Bankshares by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 44% ownership
• 17% of Union Bankshares is held by insiders

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A look at the shareholders of Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNB) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 55% to be precise, is individual investors. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Following a 12% decrease in the stock price last week, individual investors suffered the most losses, but institutions who own 28% stock also took a hit.

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

View our latest analysis for Union Bankshares

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Union Bankshares?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Union Bankshares. 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. 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 Union Bankshares' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Union Bankshares is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Susan Mercia with 8.5% of shares outstanding. Richard Sargent is the second largest shareholder owning 6.6% of common stock, and FMR LLC holds about 6.2% of the company stock. In addition, we found that David Silverman, the CEO has 0.7% of the shares allocated to their name.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Union Bankshares

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Union Bankshares, Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$106m, and insiders have US$18m worth of shares in their own names. 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

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 55% of Union Bankshares. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Union Bankshares better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Union Bankshares you should be aware of.

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.