To get a sense of who is truly in control of Breville Group Limited (ASX:BRG), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 39% to be precise, is institutions. 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 3.1% in value last week. However, the 58% one-year return to shareholders may have helped lessen their pain. But they would probably be wary of future losses.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Breville Group.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Breville Group?
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.
Breville 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. 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 Breville Group's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
ASX:BRG Earnings and Revenue Growth October 4th 2024
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Breville Group. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Premier Investments Limited with 25% of shares outstanding. Bennelong Funds Management Group Pty Ltd is the second largest shareholder owning 9.3% of common stock, and Greencape Capital Pty Ltd holds about 5.8% of the company stock.
On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 6 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.
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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of Breville Group
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 information suggests that Breville Group Limited insiders own under 1% of the company. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. It is a pretty big company, so it would be possible for board members to own a meaningful interest in the company, without owning much of a proportional interest. In this case, they own around AU$41m 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
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 30% stake in Breville Group. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Private Company Ownership
We can see that Private Companies own 4.5%, of the shares on issue. 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.
Public Company Ownership
We can see that public companies hold 26% of the Breville Group shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.
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. Take risks for example - Breville Group has 1 warning sign we think 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.
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.
