Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in SJM Holdings indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The largest shareholder of the company is Macau Tourism And Amusement Company Limited with a 55% stake
• Insiders own 12% of SJM Holdings

A look at the shareholders of SJM Holdings Limited (HKG:880) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 55% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And following last week's 4.0% decline in share price, private companies suffered the most losses.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about SJM Holdings.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About SJM Holdings?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in SJM Holdings. 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 SJM Holdings' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

SJM Holdings is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Macau Tourism And Amusement Company Limited, with ownership of 55%. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 8.1% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 4.5% by the third-largest shareholder. On Kei Leong, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Top Key Executive.

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 SJM Holdings

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of SJM Holdings Limited. It is very interesting to see that insiders have a meaningful HK$2.0b stake in this HK$17b business. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 27% stake in SJM Holdings. 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.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 55%, of the SJM Holdings 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:

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 SJM Holdings .

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.