Institutions' substantial holdings in GE Vernova implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
The top 17 shareholders own 50% of the company
Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock
To get a sense of who is truly in control of GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 80% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
And last week, institutional endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 15%.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about GE Vernova.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About GE Vernova?
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.
GE Vernova already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of GE Vernova, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
NYSE:GEV Earnings and Revenue Growth January 29th 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 GE Vernova. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 10.0% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 7.9% and 6.5%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.
A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 17 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.
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 GE Vernova
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 most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of GE Vernova Inc.. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own US$31m worth of shares. 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 20% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over GE Vernova. 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.
Next Steps:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.
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.
