Positive week for Max Financial Services Limited (NSE:MFSL) institutional investors who lost 3.5% over the past year

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Max Financial Services’ stock prices are sensitive to their trading actions.
• The top 25 shareholders own 46% of the company
• Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

Every investor in Max Financial Services Limited (NSE:MFSL) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion’s share in the company with 47% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

After a year of 3.5% losses, last week’s 3.1% gain would be welcomed by institutional investors as a likely sign that returns might start trending higher.

Let’s take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Max Financial Services.

See our latest analysis for Max Financial Services

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Max Financial Services?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it’s included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

We can see that Max Financial Services does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company’s stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can’t rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 Max Financial Services’ historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there’s always more to the story.

Max Financial Services is not owned by hedge funds. MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc. is currently the company’s largest shareholder with 22% of shares outstanding. With 11% and 2.5% of the shares outstanding respectively, Max Ventures Investment Holdings Private Limited and New York Life Insurance Company are the second and third largest shareholders.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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 Max Financial Services

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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.

Our information suggests that Max Financial Services Limited insiders own under 1% of the company. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. It’s a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own ₹563m worth of shares. Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 15% stake in Max Financial Services. While this group can’t necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 14%, of the shares on issue. It’s hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 22% of Max Financial Services stock. We can’t be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

It’s always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Max Financial Services better, we need to consider many other factors.

I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

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.