Yahoo Finance While individual investors own 36% of Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP), private companies are its largest shareholders with 41% ownership
Key Insights
Significant control over Saputo by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
A total of 6 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
If you want to know who really controls Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 41% to be precise, is private companies. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
Individual investors, on the other hand, account for 36% of the company's stockholders.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Saputo.
View our latest analysis for Saputo
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Saputo?
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.
We can see that Saputo does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Saputo, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Saputo. Jolina Capital Inc. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 31% of shares outstanding. Placements Italcan Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 10% of common stock, and FMR LLC holds about 3.2% of the company stock.
We did some more digging and found that 6 of the top shareholders account for roughly 50% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.
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 Saputo
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.
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 less than 1% of Saputo Inc.. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own CA$86m of stock. Arguably recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 36% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Saputo. 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.
Private Company Ownership
Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 41%, of the company's shares. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.
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. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for Saputo that you should be aware of.
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.
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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.
