Yahoo Finance What Is The Ownership Structure Like For Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)?
Every investor in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies. Companies that used to be publicly owned tend to have lower insider ownership.
Alibaba Group Holding is a pretty big company. It has a market capitalization of US$323b. Normally institutions would own a significant portion of a company this size. Taking a look at our data on the ownership groups (below), it seems that institutional investors have bought into the company. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about Alibaba Group Holding.
View our latest analysis for Alibaba Group Holding
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Alibaba Group Holding?
Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Alibaba Group Holding. 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 Alibaba Group Holding's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Alibaba Group Holding. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is SoftBank Group Corp. with 25% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are Yun Ma and The Vanguard Group, Inc., with an equal amount of shares to their name at 2.6%.
Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.
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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of Alibaba Group Holding
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
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.
We can report that insiders do own shares in Alibaba Group Holding Limited. Insiders own US$11b worth of shares (at current prices). 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
With a 33% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Alibaba Group Holding. 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.
Public Company Ownership
We can see that public companies hold 25% of the Alibaba Group Holding shares on issue. 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 Alibaba Group Holding better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Alibaba Group Holding you should be aware of.
If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
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.
