Yahoo Finance DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA's (ETR:DWS) market cap dropped €212m last week; Public companies bore the brunt
If you want to know who really controls DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA (ETR:DWS), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are public companies with 79% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
As a result, public companies as a group endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by €212m.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of DWS Group GmbH KGaA.
View our latest analysis for DWS Group GmbH KGaA
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About DWS Group GmbH KGaA?
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 have a fair amount of stake in DWS Group GmbH KGaA. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see DWS Group GmbH KGaA's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
DWS Group GmbH KGaA is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft is the largest shareholder with 79% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. With 5.0% and 1.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, Nippon Life Insurance Company, Asset Management Arm and Union Asset Management Holding AG are the second and third largest shareholders.
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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of DWS Group GmbH KGaA
The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.
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.
We note our data does not show any board members holding shares, personally. Given we are not picking up on insider ownership, we may have missing data. Therefore, it would be interesting to assess the CEO compensation and tenure, here.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 11% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.
Public Company Ownership
Public companies currently own 79% of DWS Group GmbH KGaA stock. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand DWS Group GmbH KGaA better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for DWS Group GmbH KGaA you should know about.
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.
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.
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