Yahoo Finance Institutional investors are The Vita Coco Company, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:COCO) biggest bettors and were rewarded after last week's US$70m market cap gain
Key Insights
Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Vita Coco Company's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
The top 10 shareholders own 52% of the company
If you want to know who really controls The Vita Coco Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COCO), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 48% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
Last week’s 5.0% gain means that institutional investors were on the positive end of the spectrum even as the company has shown strong longer-term trends. The gains from last week would have further boosted the one-year return to shareholders which currently stand at 91%.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Vita Coco Company, beginning with the chart below.
Check out our latest analysis for Vita Coco Company
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Vita Coco Company?
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.
Vita Coco Company already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 Vita Coco Company's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Vita Coco Company. The company's largest shareholder is Verlinvest Beverages Sa, with ownership of 19%. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 6.0% and 4.9%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Michael Kirban, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board. Furthermore, CEO Martin Roper is the owner of 3.2% of the company's shares.
On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 10 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.
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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of Vita Coco Company
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.
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 The Vita Coco Company, Inc.. Insiders own US$186m worth of shares in the US$1.5b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 14% stake in Vita Coco Company. 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.
Private Company Ownership
Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 25%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.
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. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Vita Coco Company 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.
