With 54% ownership in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI), insiders continue to have the largest holding even though they have sold shares recently

Key Insights

• Levi Strauss' significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• A total of 7 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Insiders have sold recently

If you want to know who really controls Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 54% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Even though insiders have sold shares recently, the group owns the most numbers of shares in the company.

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

View our latest analysis for Levi Strauss

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Levi Strauss?

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 Levi Strauss does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Levi Strauss' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Levi Strauss. The company's largest shareholder is Miriam Haas, with ownership of 11%. With 9.3% and 8.8% of the shares outstanding respectively, Robert Haas and Margaret Haas are the second and third largest shareholders.

We did some more digging and found that 7 of the top shareholders account for roughly 51% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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 Levi Strauss

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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 the majority of Levi Strauss & Co.. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. Given it has a market cap of US$6.2b, that means insiders have a whopping US$3.3b worth of shares in their own names. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to discover if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 17% stake in Levi Strauss. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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. Take risks for example - Levi Strauss has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

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.