Key Insights

• Significant insider control over adesso implies vested interests in company growth
• A total of 4 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership
• 20% of adesso is held by Institutions

If you want to know who really controls adesso SE (ETR:ADN1), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 49% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

So, insiders of adesso have a lot at stake and every decision they make on the company’s future is important to them from a financial point of view.

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

View our latest analysis for adesso

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About adesso?

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.

adesso 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 adesso's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in adesso. 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 27% of shares outstanding. With 16% and 5.6% of the shares outstanding respectively, Rainer Rudolf and Ludwig Fresenius are the second and third largest shareholders. Interestingly, the second-largest shareholder, Rainer Rudolf is also Top Key Executive, again, pointing towards strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 52% of the company is controlled by the top 4 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

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. 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 adesso SE. Insiders have a €271m stake in this €558m business. 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

With a 31% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over adesso. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Be aware that adesso is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is significant...

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.