With 85% ownership of the shares, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE) is heavily dominated by institutional owners

Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
The top 17 shareholders own 50% of the company
Recent sales by insiders

Every investor in Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion’s share in the company with 85% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Because institutional owners have a huge pool of resources and liquidity, their investing decisions tend to carry a great deal of weight, especially with individual investors. As a result, a sizeable amount of institutional money invested in a firm is generally viewed as a positive attribute.

Let’s take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

Check out our latest analysis for Hewlett Packard Enterprise

ownership-breakdown — NYSE:HPE Ownership Breakdown December 25th 2024

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise. 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 Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

earnings-and-revenue-growth — NYSE:HPE Earnings and Revenue Growth December 25th 2024

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is The Vanguard Group, Inc. with 13% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 9.3% and 5.5% of the stock.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 17 have the combined ownership of 50% 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.

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company in their own names. It is a very large company, so it would be surprising to see insiders own a large proportion of the company. Though their holding amounts to less than 1%, we can see that board members collectively own US$109m worth of shares (at current prices). Arguably recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 13% stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise. 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.

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 Hewlett Packard Enterprise that you should be aware of.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.

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