Institutions' substantial holdings in CVS Group implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
53% of the business is held by the top 9 shareholders
Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business
If you want to know who really controls CVS Group plc (LON:CVSG), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 82% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
And institutional investors endured the highest losses after the company's share price fell by 8.9% last week. This set of investors may especially be concerned about the current loss, which adds to a one-year loss of 7.2% for shareholders. Institutions or "liquidity providers" control large sums of money and therefore, these types of investors usually have a lot of influence over stock price movements. As a result, if the decline continues, institutional investors may be pressured to sell CVS Group which might hurt individual investors.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about CVS Group.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About CVS Group?
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.
CVS Group 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 CVS Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
AIM:CVSG Earnings and Revenue Growth March 14th 2025
Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Hedge funds don't have many shares in CVS Group. The company's largest shareholder is Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd., with ownership of 10%. Tweedy, Browne Company LLC is the second largest shareholder owning 8.1% of common stock, and abrdn plc holds about 7.5% of the company stock.
We did some more digging and found that 9 of the top shareholders account for roughly 53% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.
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 are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of CVS Group
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.
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.
Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of CVS Group plc in their own names. It has a market capitalization of just UK£694m, and the board has only UK£1.3m worth of shares in their own names. Many investors in smaller companies prefer to see the board more heavily invested. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 11% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.
Private Equity Ownership
With an ownership of 6.2%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.
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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with CVS Group (at least 1 which shouldn't be ignored) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
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.
