Yahoo Finance TomTom N.V.'s (AMS:TOM2) most bullish insider, CEO Harold C. Goddijn must be pleased with the recent 12% gain
Key Insights
TomTom's significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
The top 5 shareholders own 51% of the company
A look at the shareholders of TomTom N.V. (AMS:TOM2) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 51% to be precise, is individual insiders. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
As a result, insiders were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 12% gain.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of TomTom, beginning with the chart below.
View our latest analysis for TomTom
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About TomTom?
Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.
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.
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in TomTom. The company's CEO Harold C. Goddijn is the largest shareholder with 12% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 12% and 11% of the stock. 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.
To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 5 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.
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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
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.
I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of TomTom N.V.. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. That means they own €384m worth of shares in the €749m company. That's quite meaningful. 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-- including retail investors -- own 25% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand TomTom better, we need to consider many other factors.
I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.
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.
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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.
