Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in QBE Insurance Group indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 41% ownership
• Insiders have been buying lately

A look at the shareholders of QBE Insurance Group Limited (ASX:QBE) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 55% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Following a 3.8% increase in the stock price last week, individual investors profited the most, but institutions who own 45% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

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

See our latest analysis for QBE Insurance Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About QBE Insurance 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.

QBE Insurance 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. 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 QBE Insurance Group's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

QBE Insurance Group is not owned by hedge funds. Australian Super Pty Ltd is currently the company's largest shareholder with 9.4% of shares outstanding. BlackRock, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 7.4% of common stock, and State Street Global Advisors, Inc. holds about 7.1% of the company stock.

Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

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 QBE Insurance Group

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. 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 information suggests that QBE Insurance Group Limited insiders own under 1% of the company. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own AU$26m of stock. Arguably recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 55% of QBE Insurance Group shares. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for QBE Insurance Group that you should be aware of.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.

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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.