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Do Insiders Own Lots Of Shares In Erie Indemnity Company (NASDAQ:ERIE)?

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A look at the shareholders of Erie Indemnity Company (NASDAQ:ERIE) can tell us which group is most powerful. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies. I quite like to see at least a little bit of insider ownership. As Charlie Munger said 'Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.'

With a market capitalization of US$9.2b, Erie Indemnity is rather large. We'd expect to see institutional investors on the register. Companies of this size are usually well known to retail investors, too. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutional investors have bought into the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about ERIE.

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See our latest analysis for Erie Indemnity

NasdaqGS:ERIE Ownership Summary, May 13th 2019
NasdaqGS:ERIE Ownership Summary, May 13th 2019

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Erie Indemnity?

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 own 32% of Erie Indemnity. 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 Erie Indemnity's earnings history, below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

NasdaqGS:ERIE Income Statement, May 13th 2019
NasdaqGS:ERIE Income Statement, May 13th 2019

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Erie Indemnity. There is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Erie Indemnity

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of Erie Indemnity Company. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. Given it has a market cap of US$9.2b, that means insiders have a whopping US$5.5b worth of shares in their own names. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been selling any of their shares.

General Public Ownership

The general public holds a 22% stake in ERIE. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

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.

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 .

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.