Key Insights

• adesso's significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion

• The top 3 shareholders own 56% of the company

• Institutional ownership in adesso is 22%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of adesso SE (ETR:ADN1), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 52% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

So it follows, every decision made by insiders of adesso regarding the company's future would be crucial to them.

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

View our latest analysis for adesso

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About adesso?

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.

adesso already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 adesso's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

adesso is not owned by hedge funds. Because actions speak louder than words, we consider it a good sign when insiders own a significant stake in a company. In adesso's case, its Top Key Executive, Volker Gruhn, is the largest shareholder, holding 26% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 16% and 13% of the stock. Interestingly, the second-largest shareholder, Rainer Rudolf is also Top Key Executive, again, pointing towards strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 56% stake.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of adesso

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of adesso SE. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. Given it has a market cap of €580m, that means they have €302m worth of shares. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish todiscover (for free) if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 13% stake in adesso. 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 13%, 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.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand adesso better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for adesso (1 is concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.