Retail investors account for 47% of IPD Group Limited’s (ASX:IPG) ownership, while insiders account for 37%

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in IPD Group indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy

• A total of 13 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership

• Insider ownership in IPD Group is 37%

Every investor in IPD Group Limited (ASX:IPG) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 47% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And individual insiders on the other hand have a 37% 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.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of IPD Group.

Check out our latest analysis for IPD Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About IPD Group?

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.

We can see that IPD Group does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company’s stock. 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. 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 IPD Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

IPD Group is not owned by hedge funds. Our data suggests that Mohamed Yoosuff, who is also the company’s Senior Key Executive, holds the most number of shares at 13%. When an insider holds a sizeable amount of a company’s stock, investors consider it as a positive sign because it suggests that insiders are willing to have their wealth tied up in the future of the company. Geoffrey Bacon is the second largest shareholder owning 6.5% of common stock, and Yazad Super Pty Ltd holds about 5.0% of the company stock. Additionally, the company’s CEO Michael Sainsbury directly holds 1.5% of the total shares outstanding.

Story continues

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 13 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock’s expected performance. 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 IPD Group

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in IPD Group Limited. It has a market capitalization of just AU$418m, and insiders have AU$154m worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 47% stake in IPD Group. 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 7.7%, of the company’s shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it’s hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

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 instance, we’ve identified 1 warning sign for IPD Group that you should be aware of.

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.