With 70% ownership in Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE:CCL), institutional investors have a lot riding on the business

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Carnival Corporation &'s stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• A total of 24 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Insiders have been selling lately

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If you want to know who really controls Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE:CCL), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 70% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And last week, institutional investors ended up benefitting the most after the company hit US$31b in market cap. The one-year return on investment is currently 48% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Carnival Corporation &.

Check out our latest analysis for Carnival Corporation &

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Carnival Corporation &?

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 Carnival Corporation &. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Carnival Corporation &, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Carnival Corporation & is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that The Vanguard Group, Inc. is the largest shareholder with 9.7% of shares outstanding. With 6.5% and 5.8% of the shares outstanding respectively, Micky Arison and BlackRock, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders. Micky Arison, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Top Key Executive.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 24 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Carnival Corporation &

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.

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Carnival Corporation & plc. Insiders own US$2.0b worth of shares (at current prices). we sometimes take an interest in whether they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 24% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Carnival Corporation &. 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.

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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Carnival Corporation & (at least 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.