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COSCO SHIPPING Development Co., Ltd.'s (HKG:2866) stock price dropped 5.2% last week; private companies would not be happy

Simply Wall St · 2d ago

Key Insights

  • The considerable ownership by private companies in COSCO SHIPPING Development indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
  • 50% of the business is held by the top 4 shareholders
  • Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

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A look at the shareholders of COSCO SHIPPING Development Co., Ltd. (HKG:2866) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 48% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, private companies as a group endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by HK$791m.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of COSCO SHIPPING Development.

View our latest analysis for COSCO SHIPPING Development

ownership-breakdown
SEHK:2866 Ownership Breakdown December 16th 2025

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About COSCO SHIPPING Development?

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.

COSCO SHIPPING Development already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 COSCO SHIPPING Development's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

earnings-and-revenue-growth
SEHK:2866 Earnings and Revenue Growth December 16th 2025

COSCO SHIPPING Development is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited with 36% of shares outstanding. COSCO Shipping Investment Holdings Co., Ltd. is the second largest shareholder owning 12% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 1.3% of the company stock.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 4 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of COSCO SHIPPING Development

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.

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 information suggests that COSCO SHIPPING Development Co., Ltd. insiders own under 1% of the company. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own HK$2.8m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

With a 46% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over COSCO SHIPPING Development. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 48%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

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. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for COSCO SHIPPING Development (of which 2 are a bit concerning!) you should know about.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.