Every investor in Aviva plc (LON:AV.) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 76% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
No shareholder likes losing money on their investments, especially institutional investors who saw their holdings drop 4.2% in value last week. Still, the 26% one-year gains may have helped mitigate their overall losses. They should, however, be mindful of further losses in the future.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Aviva.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Aviva?
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 Aviva. 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 Aviva's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
LSE:AV. Earnings and Revenue Growth October 29th 2024
Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Aviva is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is BlackRock, Inc., with ownership of 9.1%. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 4.9% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 4.8% by the third-largest shareholder.
A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 22 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 Aviva
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.
Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Aviva plc in their own names. It is a very large company, so it would be surprising to see insiders own a large proportion of the company. Though their holding amounts to less than 1%, we can see that board members collectively own UK£9.0m worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
General Public Ownership
With a 22% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Aviva. 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.
If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this freereport 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.
