Despite recent sales, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (NASDAQ:DJT) insiders still control 63% of the company

Key Insights

• Trump Media & Technology Group's significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• The largest shareholder of the company is Donald Trump with a 59% stake
• Recent sales by insiders

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. ( NASDAQ:DJT ), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 63% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Even though insiders have sold shares recently, the group owns the most numbers of shares in the company and as a result benefitted the most after market cap rose US$327m last week.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Trump Media & Technology Group, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for Trump Media & Technology Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Trump Media & Technology Group?

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.

We can see that Trump Media & Technology Group does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Trump Media & Technology Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Trump Media & Technology Group. Donald Trump is currently the company's largest shareholder with 59% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of 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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Trump Media & Technology 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.

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 information suggests that insiders own more than half of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp.. This gives them effective control of the company. That means insiders have a very meaningful US$2.0b stake in this US$3.1b business. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been selling any of their shares.

General Public Ownership

With a 26% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Trump Media & Technology Group. 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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 3.9%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Trump Media & Technology Group better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 5 warning signs we've spotted with Trump Media & Technology Group (including 2 which can't be ignored) .

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy . So take a peek at this free 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.