retail investors who own 37% along with institutions invested in DSM-Firmenich AG (AMS:DSFIR) saw increase in their holdings value last week

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

Mon, Jan 20, 2025, 12:06 AM 4 min read

Every investor in DSM-Firmenich AG (AMS:DSFIR) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 37% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While retail investors were the group that benefitted the most from last week’s €1.2b market cap gain, institutions too had a 36% share in those profits.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of DSM-Firmenich, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for DSM-Firmenich

ownership-breakdown — ENXTAM:DSFIR Ownership Breakdown January 20th 2025

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About DSM-Firmenich?

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.

DSM-Firmenich 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 DSM-Firmenich's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

earnings-and-revenue-growth — ENXTAM:DSFIR Earnings and Revenue Growth January 20th 2025

DSM-Firmenich is not owned by hedge funds. Norges Bank Investment Management is currently the largest shareholder, with 4.9% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 3.2% and 3.1% of the stock.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of DSM-Firmenich

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in DSM-Firmenich AG. Insiders own €7.0b worth of shares in the €26b 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

With a 37% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over DSM-Firmenich. 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.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.