Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, First Business Financial Services' stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• 51% of the business is held by the top 17 shareholders
• Insiders have been selling lately

Every investor in First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 68% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Since institutional have access to huge amounts of capital, their market moves tend to receive a lot of scrutiny by retail or individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of First Business Financial Services.

View our latest analysis for First Business Financial Services

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About First Business Financial Services?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

First Business Financial Services 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. 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 First Business Financial Services, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. First Business Financial Services is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is BlackRock, Inc., with ownership of 10%. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 6.5% and 4.8%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Additionally, the company's CEO Corey Chambas directly holds 1.6% of the total shares outstanding.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 17 have the combined ownership of 51% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

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. 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 First Business Financial Services

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.

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.

We can report that insiders do own shares in First Business Financial Services, Inc.. In their own names, insiders own US$24m worth of stock in the US$407m company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 26% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over First Business Financial Services. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand First Business Financial Services better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for First Business Financial Services that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.