Key Insights
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Significantly high institutional ownership implies Magna International’s stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
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The top 25 shareholders own 44% of the company
To get a sense of who is truly in control of Magna International Inc. (TSE:MG), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 69% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
And as as result, institutional investors reaped the most rewards after the company’s stock price gained 3.3% last week. One-year return to shareholders is currently 9.0% and last week’s gain was the icing on the cake.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Magna International.
View our latest analysis for Magna International
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Magna International?
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.
Magna International 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. 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 Magna International, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Hedge funds don’t have many shares in Magna International. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is The Vanguard Group, Inc. with 3.4% of shares outstanding. With 3.1% and 2.9% of the shares outstanding respectively, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. and Beutel Goodman & Company Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders.
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.
While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock’s expected performance. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of Magna International
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. 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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Magna International Inc. in their own names. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own CA$114m of stock. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
General Public Ownership
The general public– including retail investors — own 31% 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.
Next Steps:
It’s always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Magna International better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example – Magna International has 4 warning signs we think you should be aware of.
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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