What you need to know about the Marks and Spencer Group plc (LON: MKS) investor makeup

The major shareholder groups in the Marks and Spencer Group plc (LON: MKS) have power over the company. Institutions often own stocks in larger companies, and we believe insiders own a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones. Companies that have been privatized tend to have low levels of insider ownership.

The Marks and Spencer Group has a market cap of £ 4.6 billion, too big to fly under the radar. We would expect both institutions and private investors to own part of the company. Our analysis of company ownership below shows that institutional investors have bought into the company. Let’s take a closer look at what the different types of shareholders can tell us about the Marks and Spencer Group.

Check out our latest analysis for the Marks and Spencer Group

LSE: MKS Property Breakdown December 31, 2021

What does institutional ownership tell us about the Mark and Spencer Group?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. As a result, they tend to pay more attention to companies that are in major indices.

The Marks and Spencer Group already has institutes in its share register. In fact, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies that the analysts at these institutions have looked at the stock and like it. But like everyone else, they can be wrong too. It is not uncommon for the stock price to drop sharply when two large institutional investors are trying to sell a stock at the same time. So it’s worth checking out the Marks and Spencer Group’s earnings history so far (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider as well.

Revenue-and-revenue growth
LSE: MKS earnings and sales growth December 31, 2021

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together they are likely to have a significant impact on board decisions. The Marks and Spencer Group is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC is the largest shareholder with 7.5% of the shares outstanding. Schroder Investment Management Limited is the second largest shareholder with 7.5% of the common stock, and RWC Partners Limited owns approximately 6.0% of the company’s shares.

A look at the shareholder register shows that 50% of the property is controlled by the 14 largest shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a controlling stake in the property.

While it makes sense to examine institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to examine analyst sentiment to know which way the wind is blowing. There are a fair number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view of the future.

Inside ownership of the Marks and Spencer Group

While the exact definition of an insider can be subjective, almost every board member considers an insider. The company management is subordinate to the board of directors and this should represent the interests of the shareholders. It is noteworthy that sometimes top-level managers sit on the board themselves.

Most consider insider ownership to be a positive as it may indicate that the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, sometimes too much power is concentrated within this group.

We understand that Marks and Spencer Group plc insiders own less than 1% of the company. However, we point out that it is possible that insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or another corporate structure. Remember, this is a large company and Insider owns £ 2.7m worth of shares. The absolute value can be more important than the proportional part. It’s always good to see at least a certain percentage of insiders, but it might be worth checking to see if those insiders have sold.

General public property

At 16%, the general public, composed mostly of individual investors, has some influence on the Marks and Spencer Group. While this group may not necessarily be in charge, they can certainly have a real impact on how the company is run.

Ownership of private companies

We can see that private companies own 3.4% of the shares in issue. It is difficult to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so it is worth examining who owns these private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties hold shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

It is always worthwhile to think about the different groups that own shares in a company. But to better understand the Marks and Spencer Group, we need to consider many other factors. For example, think of risks. Every company has them and we discovered them 2 warning signs for Marks and Spencer Group you should know.

But in the end it is the future, not the past that will determine how well the owners of this company will fare. Hence, we think it would be wise to take a look at this free report which shows whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

Note: The numbers in this article are calculated using data from the past twelve months, which refers to the twelve month period ending on the last day of the month in which the financial statements are dated. This may not match the figures in the financial statements.

This article from Simply Wall St is of a general nature. We only provide comments based on historical data and analyst projections using an unbiased methodology, and our articles are not intended as financial advice. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell stocks and does not take into account your goals or your financial situation. Our goal is to provide you with long-term, focused analysis based on fundamentals. Note that our analysis may not take into account the latest company announcements or quality material, which may be sensitive to the price. Simply Wall St has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

About Nina Snider

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