Jonathan Weis Weis Markets, Inc.'s (NYSE:WMK) CEO is the most bullish insider, and their stock value gained 7.6%last week

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

Tue, May 6, 2025, 11:36 AM 4 min read

A look at the shareholders of Weis Markets, Inc. (NYSE:WMK) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 39% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Clearly, insiders benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by US$168m last week.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Weis Markets

ownership-breakdown — NYSE:WMK Ownership Breakdown May 6th 2025

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Weis Markets?

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.

We can see that Weis Markets does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Weis Markets' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

earnings-and-revenue-growth — NYSE:WMK Earnings and Revenue Growth May 6th 2025

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Weis Markets. The company's CEO Jonathan Weis is the largest shareholder with 39% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 7.8% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 6.9% by the third-largest shareholder.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 54% stake.

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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Weis Markets

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.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Weis Markets, Inc.. Insiders own US$932m worth of shares in the US$2.4b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 21% stake in Weis Markets. 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.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.

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.