Marex Group plc's (NASDAQ:MRX) market cap touched US$1.9b last week, benefiting both private companies who own 38% as well as institutions

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Marex Group indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 52% of the business is held by the top 4 shareholders
• 23% of Marex Group is held by Institutions

Every investor in Marex Group plc (NASDAQ:MRX) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 38% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Following a 3.9% increase in the stock price last week, private companies profited the most, but institutions who own 23% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Marex Group.

See our latest analysis for Marex Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Marex Group?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Marex Group. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Marex Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

It looks like hedge funds own 14% of Marex Group shares. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. Sarpedon Limited is currently the largest shareholder, with 20% of shares outstanding. With 14% and 13% of the shares outstanding respectively, Marathon Asset Management, LP and Ocean Ring Jersey Co. Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders. Additionally, the company's CEO Ian Lowitt directly holds 3.5% of the total shares outstanding.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 52% of the company is controlled by the top 4 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

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 Marex Group

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.

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 some shares in Marex Group plc. It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around US$137m worth of shares (at current prices). Most would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. Still, it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 18% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Marex Group. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 38%, of the Marex Group stock. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Marex Group better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Marex Group that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.