To get a sense of who is truly in control of DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX:D05), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 43% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And private equity firms on the other hand have a 29% ownership in the company.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about DBS Group Holdings.

Check out our latest analysis for DBS Group Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About DBS Group Holdings?

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.

DBS Group Holdings 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see DBS Group Holdings' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in DBS Group Holdings. Capital Research and Management Company is currently the largest shareholder, with 4.2% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 2.6% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 0.9% by the third-largest shareholder.

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.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. 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 DBS Group Holdings

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of DBS Group Holdings Ltd. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own S$244m worth of shares. 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

With a 43% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over DBS Group Holdings. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Equity Ownership

With a stake of 29%, private equity firms could influence the DBS Group Holdings board. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand DBS Group Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for DBS Group Holdings (1 is significant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.