Key Insights

• Significant control over Mizuho Leasing Company by public companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 5 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Institutional ownership in Mizuho Leasing Company is 17%

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Every investor in Mizuho Leasing Company, Limited (TSE:8425) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 45% to be precise, is public companies. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, public companies were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 5.1% gain.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Mizuho Leasing Company.

View our latest analysis for Mizuho Leasing Company

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Mizuho Leasing 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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Mizuho Leasing 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. 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 Mizuho Leasing Company, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Mizuho Leasing Company. The company's largest shareholder is Mizuho Financial Group, Inc., with ownership of 24%. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 20% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 2.7% by the third-largest shareholder.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 51% of the company is controlled by the top 5 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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Mizuho Leasing Company

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.

Our data cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. It is unusual not to have at least some personal holdings by board members, so our data might be flawed. A good next step would be to check how much the CEO is paid.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 38% stake in Mizuho Leasing 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 45% of the Mizuho Leasing Company shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Mizuho Leasing Company you should be aware of, and 1 of them shouldn't be ignored.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.