Key Insights

Institutions' substantial holdings in 4imprint Group implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price The top 9 shareholders own 52% of the company Ownership research along with  analyst forecasts data  help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

If you want to know who really controls 4imprint Group plc (LON:FOUR), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 87% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And as as result, institutional investors reaped the most rewards after the company's stock price gained 12% last week. One-year return to shareholders is currently 83% and last week’s gain was the icing on the cake.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of 4imprint Group, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for 4imprint Group  ownership-breakdown

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About 4imprint Group?

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.

4imprint Group already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of 4imprint Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

 earnings-and-revenue-growth

Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. 4imprint Group is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Baillie Gifford & Co., with ownership of 10.0%. With 9.7% and 7.9% of the shares outstanding respectively, BlackRock, Inc. and abrdn plc are the second and third largest shareholders. Additionally, the company's CEO Kevin Lyons-Tarr directly holds 0.9% of the total shares outstanding.

We did some more digging and found that 9 of the top shareholders account for roughly 52% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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 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 4imprint Group

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in 4imprint Group plc. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth UK£22m. Most would see this as a real positive. If you would like to explore the question of insider alignment, you can  click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 11% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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. Be aware that  4imprint Group is showing  2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is a bit concerning...

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content?Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

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