The considerable ownership by public companies in Seven West Media indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
A total of 3 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership
If you want to know who really controls Seven West Media Limited (ASX:SWM), 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 public companies with 41% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
Individual investors, on the other hand, account for 28% of the company's stockholders.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Seven West Media, beginning with the chart below.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Seven West Media?
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.
Seven West Media already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 Seven West Media's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
ASX:SWM Earnings and Revenue Growth April 15th 2024
Seven West Media is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Seven Group Holdings Limited, with ownership of 41%. With 6.3% and 4.5% of the shares outstanding respectively, Spheria Asset Management Pty Ltd and First Sentier Investors (Australia) IM Ltd are the second and third largest shareholders. In addition, we found that James Warburton, the CEO has 1.5% of the shares allocated to their name.
To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 3 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.
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. 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 Seven West Media
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.
We can see that insiders own shares in Seven West Media Limited. In their own names, insiders own AU$12m worth of stock in the AU$280m company. This shows at least some alignment, but we usually like to see larger insider holdings. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 28% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Seven West Media. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.
Public Company Ownership
It appears to us that public companies own 41% of Seven West Media. 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.
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.
