Key Insights

• Significant control over Landmark Bancorp by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions

• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 39% ownership

• Insiders have been buying lately

If you want to know who really controls Landmark Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:LARK), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 58% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Individual insiders, on the other hand, account for 22% of the company's stockholders. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Landmark Bancorp, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Landmark Bancorp

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Landmark Bancorp?

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.

We can see that Landmark Bancorp 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. 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 Landmark Bancorp, (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 Landmark Bancorp. Michael Brilley is currently the largest shareholder, with 5.2% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 4.8% and 3.9%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Richard Ball, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors. In addition, we found that Michael Scheopner, the CEO has 2.5% of the shares allocated to their name.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Landmark Bancorp

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Landmark Bancorp, Inc.. Insiders own US$25m worth of shares in the US$114m company. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 58% of Landmark Bancorp. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

Next Steps:

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

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.

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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