Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCS.A) is largely controlled by institutional shareholders who own 84% of the company

If you want to know who actually controls Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCS.A), then you’ll need to look at the composition of its stock register. And the group that holds the biggest slice of the pie is made up of 84%-owned institutions. In other words, the group is likely to gain the most (or lose the most) from its investment in the business.

Since institutional owners have a huge pool of resources and liquidity, their investment decisions tend to carry a lot of weight, especially with individual investors. Therefore, having a considerable amount of institutional money invested in a business is often considered a desirable trait.

Let’s take a closer look at what different types of shareholders can tell us about Comcast.

See our latest analysis for Comcast

What does institutional ownership tell us about Comcast?

Institutional investors typically compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly tracked index. They therefore generally consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark.

As you can see, institutional investors own a sizable share of Comcast. This suggests some credibility with professional investors. But we cannot rely solely on this fact since institutions sometimes make bad investments, like everyone else. It is not uncommon to see a sharp decline in the stock price if two large institutional investors attempt to sell a stock at the same time. So it’s worth checking out Comcast’s past earnings trajectory (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider as well.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half of the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. We note that hedge funds have no significant investment in Comcast. Our data shows that Capital Research and Management Company is the largest shareholder with 10% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third shareholders hold approximately 8.9% and 7.1% of the shares. Additionally, we found that Brian Roberts, the CEO, owns 0.8% of the shares allocated to his name.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 20 shareholders hold a combined ownership of 50%, implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

While it makes sense to study data on a company’s institutional ownership, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiment to find out which way the wind is blowing. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be interesting to see what they are predicting as well.

Comcast Insider Ownership

The definition of an insider may differ slightly from country to country, but board members still matter. The management of the company runs the company, but the CEO will answer to the board of directors, even if he is a member of it.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, there are times when it is more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Comcast Corporation. It’s a very big company, so it would be surprising to see insiders owning much of the company. Although their stake is less than 1%, we can see that the board members collectively own $1.5 billion worth of shares (at today’s prices). In this kind of situation, it may be more interesting to see whether these insiders have been buying or selling.

General public property

The general public, who are usually individual investors, own a 15% stake in Comcast. Although this group may not necessarily make the decisions, they can certainly have a real influence on the way the business is run.

Next steps:

I find it very interesting to see who exactly owns a business. But to really get insight, we also need to consider other information. Be aware that Comcast displays 2 warning signs in our investment analysis you should know…

If you prefer to find out what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, don’t miss this free analyst forecast report.

NB: The figures in this article are calculated using trailing twelve month data, which refers to the 12 month period ending on the last day of the month in which the financial statements are dated. This may not be consistent with the annual report figures for the full year.

Feedback on this article? Concerned about content? Get in touch with us directly. You can also email the editorial team (at) Simplywallst.com.

This Simply Wall St article is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell stocks and does not take into account your objectives or financial situation. Our goal is to bring you targeted long-term analysis based on fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not take into account the latest announcements from price-sensitive companies or qualitative materials. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.