Yahoo Finance Institutional investors have a lot riding on Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. (NASDAQ:COKE) with 42% ownership
Key Insights
Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Coca-Cola Consolidated's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
The top 5 shareholders own 53% of the company
A look at the shareholders of Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. (NASDAQ:COKE) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 42% to be precise, is institutions. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
And last week, institutional investors ended up benefitting the most after the company hit US$9.4b in market cap. One-year return to shareholders is currently 49% and last week’s gain was the icing on the cake.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Coca-Cola Consolidated.
View our latest analysis for Coca-Cola Consolidated
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Coca-Cola Consolidated?
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 Coca-Cola Consolidated. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Coca-Cola Consolidated's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Coca-Cola Consolidated. The company's largest shareholder is The Coca-Cola Company, with ownership of 26%. J. Harrison is the second largest shareholder owning 11% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 6.5% of the company stock. J. Harrison, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.
Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 53% of the company is controlled by the top 5 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.
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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.
Insider Ownership Of Coca-Cola Consolidated
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. 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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$9.4b, and insiders have US$1.7b worth of shares in their own names. That's quite significant. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 13% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Public Company Ownership
We can see that public companies hold 26% of the Coca-Cola Consolidated shares on issue. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.
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. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Coca-Cola Consolidated .
Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.
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.
