Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by public companies in BOC International (China) indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 3 shareholders own 52% of the company
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

To get a sense of who is truly in control of BOC International (China) CO., LTD. (SHSE:601696), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are public companies with 41% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And last week, public companies endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 5.0%.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about BOC International (China).

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About BOC International (China)?

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.

We can see that BOC International (China) does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 BOC International (China), (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in BOC International (China). Bank of China Limited is currently the largest shareholder, with 33% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 14% and 4.7% of the stock.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 3 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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 is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of BOC International (China)

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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our data cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. Not all jurisdictions have the same rules around disclosing insider ownership, and it is possible we have missed something, here. So you can click here learn more about the CEO.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 34% stake in BOC International (China). While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 19%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 41% of BOC International (China) stock. 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:

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

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.