State or government own 25% of Hensoldt AG (ETR:HAG) shares but individual investors control 28% of the company

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Hensoldt 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 51% ownership
• Institutional ownership in Hensoldt is 24%

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Hensoldt AG (ETR:HAG), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 28% to be precise, is individual investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

State or government, on the other hand, account for 25% of the company's stockholders.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Hensoldt.

View our latest analysis for Hensoldt

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hensoldt?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Hensoldt. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Hensoldt, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Hensoldt. Germany is currently the company's largest shareholder with 25% of shares outstanding. Leonardo S.p.a. is the second largest shareholder owning 23% of common stock, and BlackRock, Inc. holds about 3.4% of the company stock.

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 51% stake.

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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Hensoldt

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. 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.

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 data cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. Given we are not picking up on insider ownership, we may have missing data. Therefore, it would be interesting to assess the CEO compensation and tenure, here.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 28% stake in Hensoldt. 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 23% of Hensoldt. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Hensoldt better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Hensoldt that you should be aware of.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report 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.