Materialise NV's (NASDAQ:MTLS) top owners are private companies with 56% stake, while 23% is held by institutions
Key Insights
Materialise's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
The largest shareholder of the company is Idem with a 56% stake
A look at the shareholders of Materialise NV (NASDAQ:MTLS) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 56% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
Institutions, on the other hand, account for 23% of the company's stockholders. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Materialise.
View our latest analysis for Materialise
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Materialise?
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 Materialise 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 Materialise, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Materialise. Our data shows that Idem is the largest shareholder with 56% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. Invesco Ltd. is the second largest shareholder owning 5.0% of common stock, and Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. holds about 3.5% of the company stock.
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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of Materialise
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.
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.
We can see that insiders own shares in Materialise NV. In their own names, insiders own US$5.7m worth of stock in the US$297m company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 19% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Materialise. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Private Company Ownership
It seems that Private Companies own 56%, of the Materialise stock. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.
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. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Materialise that you should be aware of before investing here.
But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.
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.
