A look at the shareholders of Olo Inc. (NYSE:OLO) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 57% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
And things are looking up for institutional investors after the company gained US$171m in market cap last week. The gains from last week would have further boosted the one-year return to shareholders which currently stand at 52%.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Olo.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Olo?
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.
Olo already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Olo's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
NYSE:OLO Earnings and Revenue Growth May 4th 2025
Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Olo is not owned by hedge funds. Raine Ventures LLC is currently the company's largest shareholder with 18% of shares outstanding. With 8.8% and 7.9% of the shares outstanding respectively, The Vanguard Group, Inc. and Raqtinda Investments LLC are the second and third largest shareholders. Furthermore, CEO Noah Glass is the owner of 2.9% of the company's shares.
We also observed that the top 7 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.
While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of Olo
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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Olo Inc.. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth US$53m. Most would see this as a real positive. It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. 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 12% stake in Olo. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Private Equity Ownership
With an ownership of 20%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company public.
Private Company Ownership
Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 7.9%, of the company's shares. 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 Olo better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Olo that you should be aware of.
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.
