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Yahoo Finance Plus Institutions own 48% of Comet Holding AG (VTX:COTN) shares but individual investors control 49% of the company
Key Insights
The considerable ownership by individual investors in Comet Holding indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
44% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
Every investor in Comet Holding AG (VTX:COTN) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 49% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
And institutions on the other hand have a 48% ownership in the company. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Comet Holding.
See our latest analysis for Comet Holding
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Comet Holding?
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 Comet Holding. 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Comet Holding's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Comet Holding. Pictet Asset Management Limited is currently the company's largest shareholder with 5.3% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 5.2% and 3.5%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.
On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.
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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of Comet Holding
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.
I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.
Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Comet Holding AG. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own CHF56m worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 49% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.
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 like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.
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.
