Yahoo Finance VP Bank AG's (VTX:VPBN) largest shareholders are retail investors with 45% ownership, institutions own 45%
Key Insights
VP Bank's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
The top 5 shareholders own 51% of the company
To get a sense of who is truly in control of VP Bank AG (VTX:VPBN), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 45% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
Institutions, on the other hand, account for 45% of the company's stockholders. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of VP Bank, beginning with the chart below.
See our latest analysis for VP Bank
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About VP Bank?
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 VP Bank 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at VP Bank's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in VP Bank. Stiftung Furstl Kommerzienrat Guido Feger, Endowment Arm is currently the company's largest shareholder with 25% of shares outstanding. With 12% and 10% of the shares outstanding respectively, Marxer Foundation for Bank Values, Endowment Arm and U.M.M. Hilti-Stiftung, Schaan are the second and third largest shareholders.
On looking further, we found that 51% of the shares are owned by the top 5 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.
Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of VP Bank
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.
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 VP Bank AG insiders own under 1% of the company. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It appears that the board holds about CHF2.3m worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of CHF542m. Many investors in smaller companies prefer to see the board more heavily invested. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 45% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over VP Bank. 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.
Private Company Ownership
It seems that Private Companies own 10%, of the VP Bank stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.
Next Steps:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with VP Bank .
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.
