Yahoo Finance Disappointing week for AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) institutional investors who control 48% of the company
Key Insights
Significantly high institutional ownership implies AngloGold Ashanti's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
The top 16 shareholders own 50% of the company
Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock
Every investor in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 48% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
As market cap fell to US$10b last week, institutional would have faced the highest losses than any other shareholder groups of the company.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of AngloGold Ashanti, beginning with the chart below.
See our latest analysis for AngloGold Ashanti
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About AngloGold Ashanti?
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 AngloGold Ashanti. 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 AngloGold Ashanti's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
AngloGold Ashanti is not owned by hedge funds. Public Investment Corporation Limited is currently the company's largest shareholder with 18% of shares outstanding. With 8.2% and 6.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, Van Eck Associates Corporation and BlackRock, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.
A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 16 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.
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 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 AngloGold Ashanti
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.
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 AngloGold Ashanti plc insiders own under 1% of the company. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own US$1.0m of stock. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 34% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over AngloGold Ashanti. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.
Next Steps:
I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too.
Many find it useful to take an in depth look at how a company has performed in the past. You can access this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.
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.
