Masterflex SE (ETR:MZX) stock most popular amongst individual investors who own 42%, while private companies hold 30%
Key Insights
Significant control over Masterflex by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
55% of the business is held by the top 4 shareholders
If you want to know who really controls Masterflex SE (ETR:MZX), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 42% to be precise, is individual investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
And private companies on the other hand have a 30% ownership in the company.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Masterflex, beginning with the chart below.
Check out our latest analysis for Masterflex
What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Masterflex?
We don't tend to see institutional investors holding stock of companies that are very risky, thinly traded, or very small. Though we do sometimes see large companies without institutions on the register, it's not particularly common.
There could be various reasons why no institutions own shares in a company. Typically, small, newly listed companies don't attract much attention from fund managers, because it would not be possible for large fund managers to build a meaningful position in the company. Alternatively, there might be something about the company that has kept institutional investors away. Masterflex might not have the sort of past performance institutions are looking for, or perhaps they simply have not studied the business closely.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Masterflex. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Reinhart Zech Von Hymmen with 20% of shares outstanding. With 20% and 7.5% of the shares outstanding respectively, J. F. Müller & Sohn AG and Edelhart Schmidt are the second and third largest shareholders.
To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 4 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.
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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.
Insider Ownership Of Masterflex
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.
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.
It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Masterflex SE. Insiders own €26m worth of shares in the €92m company. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 42% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Masterflex. 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 30%, 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 Masterflex better, we need to consider many other factors.
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.
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