Yahoo Finance With 52% ownership, TomTom N.V. (AMS:TOM2) insiders have a lot riding on the company's future
A look at the shareholders of TomTom N.V. (AMS:TOM2) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 52% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
So, insiders of TomTom have a lot at stake and every decision they make on the company’s future is important to them from a financial point of view.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about TomTom.
Check out our latest analysis for TomTom
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About TomTom?
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.
TomTom already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 TomTom's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in TomTom. The company's CEO Harold C. Goddijn is the largest shareholder with 12% of shares outstanding. With 12% and 11% of the shares outstanding respectively, Corinne Goddijn-Vigreux and Peter-Frans Pauwels are the second and third largest shareholders. Interestingly, the second-largest shareholder, Corinne Goddijn-Vigreux is also Top Key Executive, again, pointing towards strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.
On looking further, we found that 51% of the shares are owned by the top 5 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.
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. 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 TomTom
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.
Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of TomTom N.V.. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. Given it has a market cap of €879m, that means they have €454m worth of shares. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish todiscover (for free) if they have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 29% stake in TomTom. 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.
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. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for TomTom you should know about.
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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
Join A Paid User Research Session
You’ll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
