Sonic Healthcare Limited's (ASX:SHL) largest shareholders are retail investors with 54% ownership, institutions own 40%
Key Insights
- Sonic Healthcare's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
- The top 25 shareholders own 40% of the company
- 40% of Sonic Healthcare is held by Institutions
Every investor in Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX:SHL) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 54% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
Institutions, on the other hand, account for 40% of the company's stockholders. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Sonic Healthcare.
Check out our latest analysis for Sonic Healthcare
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Sonic Healthcare?
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.
We can see that Sonic Healthcare does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Sonic Healthcare's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Sonic Healthcare. State Street Global Advisors, Inc. is currently the largest shareholder, with 7.2% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 6.9% and 5.8% of the stock.
On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.
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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of Sonic Healthcare
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.
We can report that insiders do own shares in Sonic Healthcare Limited. It is a very large company, and board members collectively own AU$150m worth of shares (at current prices). we sometimes take an interest in whether they have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public -- including retail investors -- own 54% of Sonic Healthcare. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.
Private Company Ownership
Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 3.7%, 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. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Sonic Healthcare .
If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.
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.