A look at the shareholders in Surgical Science Sweden AB (publ) (STO: SUS) can tell you which group is most powerful. Insiders often own a large proportion of younger, smaller companies, while large companies tend to have institutions as shareholders. Warren Buffett said he likes “a company with lasting competitive advantages run by talented and ownership-oriented people.” So it’s nice to see some insider ownership, because it may indicate that the administration is owner-oriented.

Surgical Science Sweden has a market capitalization of SEK 9.7b, so we expect some institutional investors to have noticed the share. If you look at our information about the ownership groups (below), it seems that institutions are marked in the share register. We can zoom in on the different owner groups, to learn more about Surgical Science Sweden.

See our latest analysis for Surgical Science Sweden

What does institutional ownership tell us about Surgical Science Sweden?

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

We can see that Surgical Science Sweden has institutional investors; and they hold a large share of the company’s shares. This means that the analysts who work for these institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like everyone else, they can be wrong. If several institutions change their view of a share at the same time, you can see the share price fall rapidly. It is therefore worth looking at Surgical Science Sweden’s earnings history below. The future is, of course, what really matters.

We note that hedge funds do not have a meaningful investment in Surgical Science Sweden. Our data shows that Jan Bengtsson is the largest shareholder with 16% of the shares. With 12% and 6.9% of the shares outstanding, Roland Bengtsson and Landsnora Software AB are the second and third largest shareholders. In addition, the company’s CEO Gisli Hennermark directly owns 0.7% of the total shares.

We dug a little more and found that 6 of the largest shareholders account for approximately 53% of the register, which means that together with major shareholders there are some smaller shareholders, which balances each other’s interests somewhat.

While institutional ownership studies for a company can add value to your research, it is also good practice to examine analysts’ recommendations to gain a deeper understanding of a stock’s expected performance. There is some analyst monitoring of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to get more coverage.

Insider ownership of Surgical Science Sweden

The definition of corporate insiders can be subjective and varies between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, who at least capture board members. The management is ultimately responsible to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are founders or CEOs.

I generally think that insider ownership is a good thing. However, in some cases it is difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our information indicates that insiders have a significant holding in Surgical Science Sweden AB (publ). It has a market capitalization of only SEK 9.7 billion, and insiders have shares worth SEK 2.9 billion in their own names. It’s quite significant. Most people would be happy to see the board investing with them. You may want to access this free chart showing recent insider trading.

General public ownership

The public – including private investors – owns 31% of the shares in the company and can therefore not be easily ignored. This size of ownership, although significant, may not be enough to change the company’s policy if the decision is not in sync with other major shareholders.

Private business ownership

We can see that private companies own 6.9% of the issued shares. It may be worthwhile to look deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, this must be stated in the annual report. Private companies can also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next step:

I find it very interesting to look at exactly who owns a business. But to really gain insight, we must also consider other information. Be aware that Surgical Science Sweden shows 3 warning signs in our investment analysis you should know about …

If you prefer to discover what analysts predict in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analysts’ forecasts.

NOTE: The figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last day of the month in which the financial statements are dated. This may not be in line with the figures for the full year in the annual report.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide comments based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an impartial method and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any shares and does not take into account your goals or your financial situation. We strive to provide you with long-term focused analysis driven by basic data. Please note that our analysis may not take into account the latest price sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any of the shares mentioned.