Key Insights

• Significant control over PICC Property and Casualty by public companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The People's Insurance Company (Group) of China Limited owns 69% of the company
• Institutions own 12% of PICC Property and Casualty

A look at the shareholders of PICC Property and Casualty Company Limited (HKG:2328) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 69% to be precise, is public companies. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Clearly, public companies benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by HK$9.3b last week.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of PICC Property and Casualty.

See our latest analysis for PICC Property and Casualty

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About PICC Property and Casualty?

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 PICC Property and Casualty 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. 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 PICC Property and Casualty's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

PICC Property and Casualty is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that The People's Insurance Company (Group) of China Limited is the largest shareholder with 69% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 1.9% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 1.7% by the third-largest shareholder.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of PICC Property and Casualty

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 data cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. We do not see this low level of ownership often, and it is possible our data is imperfect. But shareholders can click here to check if insiders have been selling stock.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 19% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 69% of the PICC Property and Casualty shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand PICC Property and Casualty better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that PICC Property and Casualty 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.

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.