With 81% institutional ownership, Avon Protection plc (LON:AVON) is a favorite amongst the big guns

Unlock stock picks and a broker-level newsfeed that powers Wall Street.

editorial-team@simplywallst.com (Simply Wall St)

Thu, Jul 11, 2024, 3:51 AM 4 min read

If you want to know who really controls Avon Protection plc (LON:AVON), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 81% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Because institutional owners have a huge pool of resources and liquidity, their investing decisions tend to carry a great deal of weight, especially with individual investors. As a result, a sizeable amount of institutional money invested in a firm is generally viewed as a positive attribute.

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

View our latest analysis for Avon Protection

ownership-breakdown — LSE:AVON Ownership Breakdown July 11th 2024

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Avon Protection?

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.

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

earnings-and-revenue-growth — LSE:AVON Earnings and Revenue Growth July 11th 2024

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 Avon Protection. Alantra Eqmc Asset Management, Sgiic, S.A is currently the company's largest shareholder with 15% of shares outstanding. With 9.5% and 8.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. and Aberforth Partners LLP are the second and third largest shareholders.

We did some more digging and found that 8 of the top shareholders account for roughly 52% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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 Avon Protection

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Avon Protection plc. In their own names, insiders own UK£5.3m worth of stock in the UK£392m company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 16% stake in Avon Protection. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Avon Protection .

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report 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.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com

Terms and Privacy Policy

Your Privacy Choices

Utah Privacy Notice

More Info