Yahoo Finance ABB Ltd's (VTX:ABBN) market cap touched CHF65b last week, benefiting both retail investors who own 50% as well as institutions
Key Insights
ABB's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
The top 25 shareholders own 41% of the company
Every investor in ABB Ltd (VTX:ABBN) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 50% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
While retail investors were the group that benefitted the most from last week’s CHF2.8b market cap gain, institutions too had a 36% share in those profits.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of ABB, beginning with the chart below.
Check out our latest analysis for ABB
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About ABB?
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.
ABB already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 ABB's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in ABB. Investor AB (publ) is currently the largest shareholder, with 14% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 5.2% and 3.0%, 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.
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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of ABB
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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of ABB Ltd in their own names. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own CHF73m worth of shares. In this sort of situation, it can be more interesting to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 50% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Private Equity Ownership
Private equity firms hold a 14% stake in ABB. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company public.
Next Steps:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.
Many find it useful to take an in depth look at how a company has performed in the past. You can access this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.
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.
