Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in AngloGold Ashanti implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• 50% of the business is held by the top 17 shareholders
• Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

Every investor in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 48% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, institutional investors scored the highest last week as the company hit US$12b market cap following a 7.2% gain in the stock.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of AngloGold Ashanti.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About AngloGold Ashanti?

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.

We can see that AngloGold Ashanti does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in AngloGold Ashanti. Public Investment Corporation Limited is currently the largest shareholder, with 18% of shares outstanding. With 7.0% and 6.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, Van Eck Associates Corporation and BlackRock, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 17 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

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. 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.

Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of AngloGold Ashanti plc in their own names. It is a very large company, so it would be surprising to see insiders own a large proportion of the company. Though their holding amounts to less than 1%, we can see that board members collectively own US$1.2m worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

With a 34% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over AngloGold Ashanti. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand AngloGold Ashanti better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that AngloGold Ashanti is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.