Advanced Medical Solutions Group plc (LON:AMS) is largely controlled by institutional shareholders who own 72% of the company
Key Insights
Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Advanced Medical Solutions Group's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
51% of the business is held by the top 12 shareholders
Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock
Every investor in Advanced Medical Solutions Group plc (LON:AMS) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 72% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
Given the vast amount of money and research capacities at their disposal, institutional ownership tends to carry a lot of weight, especially with individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Advanced Medical Solutions Group.
View our latest analysis for Advanced Medical Solutions Group
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Advanced Medical Solutions Group?
Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Advanced Medical Solutions Group. 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. 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 Advanced Medical Solutions Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Advanced Medical Solutions Group is not owned by hedge funds. Octopus Investments Limited is currently the largest shareholder, with 13% of shares outstanding. With 6.5% and 5.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, Canaccord Genuity Wealth (International) Limited and Charles Stanley & Co. Ltd, Asset Management Arm are the second and third largest shareholders. Furthermore, CEO Andrew Meredith is the owner of 0.8% of the company's shares.
Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 51% of the ownership is controlled by the top 12 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.
Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. 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 Advanced Medical Solutions 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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Advanced Medical Solutions Group plc in their own names. It seems the board members have no more than UK£4.3m worth of shares in the UK£457m company. We generally like to see a board more invested. However it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
General Public Ownership
With a 11% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Advanced Medical Solutions 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 Equity Ownership
Private equity firms hold a 13% stake in Advanced Medical Solutions Group. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.
Next Steps:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.
I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.
Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
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.
