While institutions own 48% of Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR), individual investors are its largest shareholders with 51% ownership

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Amcor indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 25 shareholders own 35% of the company
• 48% of Amcor is held by Institutions

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 51% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Meanwhile, institutions make up 48% of the company’s shareholders. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies.

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

View our latest analysis for Amcor

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Amcor?

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 Amcor. 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 Amcor, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Amcor. The company's largest shareholder is BlackRock, Inc., with ownership of 6.7%. State Street Global Advisors, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 4.0% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 3.4% of the company stock.

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 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 Amcor

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.

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Amcor plc. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own US$69m of stock. In this sort of situation, it can be more interesting to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 51% of Amcor shares. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

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 3 warning signs with Amcor , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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.