DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA's (ETR:DWS) market cap surged €220m last week, public companies who have a lot riding on the company were rewarded
Key Insights
DWS Group GmbH KGaA's significant public companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
The largest shareholder of the company is Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft with a 79% stake
Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business
A look at the shareholders of DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA (ETR:DWS) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that public companies own the lion's share in the company with 79% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
As a result, public companies collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit €5.9b market cap following a 3.9% gain in the stock.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of DWS Group GmbH KGaA.
See our latest analysis for DWS Group GmbH KGaA
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About DWS Group GmbH KGaA?
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.
We can see that DWS Group GmbH KGaA does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 DWS Group GmbH KGaA's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in DWS Group GmbH KGaA. Our data shows that Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft is the largest shareholder with 79% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 5.0% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 0.9% by the third-largest shareholder.
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 DWS Group GmbH KGaA
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.
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 data cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. Given we are not picking up on insider ownership, we may have missing data. Therefore, it would be interesting to assess the CEO compensation and tenure, here.
General Public Ownership
With a 11% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over DWS Group GmbH KGaA. 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.
Public Company Ownership
It appears to us that public companies own 79% of DWS Group GmbH KGaA. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.
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. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with DWS Group GmbH KGaA .
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.
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