Key Insights

Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Liontrust Asset Management's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions A total of 13 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership Recent sales by insiders

Every investor in Liontrust Asset Management PLC (LON:LIO) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 86% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Since institutional have access to huge amounts of capital, their market moves tend to receive a lot of scrutiny by retail or individual investors. Hence, having a considerable amount of institutional money invested in a company is often regarded as a desirable trait.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Liontrust Asset Management.

See our latest analysis for Liontrust Asset Management  ownership-breakdown

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Liontrust Asset Management?

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 Liontrust Asset Management 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. 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 Liontrust Asset Management's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters. earnings-and-revenue-growth

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 Liontrust Asset Management. Castlefield Investments is currently the largest shareholder, with 6.4% of shares outstanding. Martin Currie Ltd. is the second largest shareholder owning 6.1% of common stock, and BlackRock, Inc. holds about 5.2% of the company stock. In addition, we found that John Ions, the CEO has 1.4% of the shares allocated to their name.



A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 13 shareholders have a combined ownership of 51% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

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. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Liontrust Asset Management

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Liontrust Asset Management PLC. In their own names, insiders own UK£12m worth of stock in the UK£406m company. This shows at least some alignment. You can  click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 10% 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:

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. Case in point: We've spotted  4 warning signs for Liontrust Asset Management you should be aware of, and 1 of them shouldn't be ignored.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this freereport on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.