If you want to know who really controls Lendlease Group (ASX:LLC), 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 63% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
As a result, institutional investors endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by AU$260m. Needless to say, the recent loss which further adds to the one-year loss to shareholders of 15% might not go down well especially with this category of 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 Lendlease Group which might hurt individual investors.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Lendlease Group, beginning with the chart below.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Lendlease 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.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Lendlease Group. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Lendlease Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
ASX:LLC Earnings and Revenue Growth April 12th 2025
Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Lendlease Group. The company's largest shareholder is Aware Super Pty Ltd, with ownership of 7.6%. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 7.3% and 6.9%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.
We also observed that the top 9 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.
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 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 Lendlease Group
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
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 most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Lendlease Group. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own AU$5.8m worth of shares. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 30% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.
Public Company Ownership
It appears to us that public companies own 6.9% of Lendlease Group. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.
Next Steps:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Lendlease Group .
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.
