Key Insights

• Significant control over Zhejiang Wolwo Bio-Pharmaceutical by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 3 investors have a majority stake in the company with 55% ownership
• Institutional ownership in Zhejiang Wolwo Bio-Pharmaceutical is 18%

If you want to know who really controls Zhejiang Wolwo Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300357), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 39% stake, private companies possess the maximum shares in the company. 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 collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit CN¥15b market cap following a 6.9% gain in the stock.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Zhejiang Wolwo Bio-Pharmaceutical, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Zhejiang Wolwo Bio-Pharmaceutical

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Zhejiang Wolwo Bio-Pharmaceutical?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Zhejiang Wolwo Bio-Pharmaceutical. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Zhejiang Wolwo Bio-Pharmaceutical's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Zhejiang Wolwo Bio-Pharmaceutical. Zhejiang Wolwo Management Consulting Co., Ltd. is currently the largest shareholder, with 39% of shares outstanding. With 10% and 5.9% of the shares outstanding respectively, National Council for Social Security Fund and Zhong Ou Fund Management Co., Ltd are the second and third largest shareholders. Additionally, the company's CEO Gengxi Hu directly holds 2.1% of the total shares outstanding.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 3 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Zhejiang Wolwo Bio-Pharmaceutical

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. 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.

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 Zhejiang Wolwo Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.. It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around CN¥766m worth of shares (at current prices). Most would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. Still, it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 28% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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

It seems that Private Companies own 39%, of the Zhejiang Wolwo Bio-Pharmaceutical stock. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Zhejiang Wolwo Bio-Pharmaceutical better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Zhejiang Wolwo Bio-Pharmaceutical that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.

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.