Key findings

• Given the large institutional ownership of the stock, Veeva Systems’ share price could be vulnerable to their trading decisions

• The 20 largest shareholders own 50% of the company

• Owner research along with analyst forecasts help to understand the prospects of a stock.

If you want to know who really controls Veeva Systems Inc. (NYSE:VEEV), you need to look at the composition of its share registry. We can see that institutions own the lion’s share of the company at 81%. In other words, the group has the most upside potential (or downside risk).

And as a result, institutional investors benefited the most after the company’s share price rose 3.5% last week. Last week’s gains would have further boosted the one-year return to shareholders, which currently stands at 5.4%.

In the table below we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Veeva Systems.

Check out our latest analysis for Veeva Systems

What does institutional ownership tell us about Veeva Systems?

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 their registry, especially if they’re growing.

We can see that Veeva Systems has institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company’s shares. This suggests some credibility among professional investors. But we cannot rely on this fact alone, as institutions sometimes make bad investments, just like everyone else does. If multiple institutions change their minds on a stock at the same time, the share price can drop quickly. So it’s worth taking a look at Veeva Systems’ earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Since institutional investors own more than half of the outstanding shares, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. Veeva Systems is not owned by hedge funds. The company’s largest shareholder is The Vanguard Group, Inc., with an 8.9% stake. The second and third largest shareholders hold 7.6% and 5.9% of the outstanding shares, respectively. Peter Gassner, the second largest shareholder, also happens to be the CEO.

A closer look at our ownership numbers suggests that the top 20 shareholders together own 50%, meaning no single shareholder has a majority.

While studying institutional ownership of a company can enrich your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understanding of a stock’s expected performance. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you can examine the forecast growth quite easily.

The story continues

Insider ownership of Veeva Systems

The definition of corporate insiders can be subjective and varies by jurisdiction. Our data reflects individual insiders and covers at least board members. Corporate management runs the business, but the CEO is responsible to the board, even if he or she is a member of the board.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals that management thinks like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give enormous power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

We can see that insiders own shares of Veeva Systems Inc. The insiders have a significant stake worth $2.6 billion. Sometimes we are interested to know whether they have bought or sold.

Public property

With a 10% ownership stake, the general public, which consists largely of individual investors, has some influence over Veeva Systems. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a political decision in their favor, they can still collectively influence company policy.

Next Steps:

While it is worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.

Many find it useful to take a detailed look at a company’s past performance. You can access these detailed graphics of previous earnings, sales and cash flows.

Ultimately The future is the most important thing. You can access this free Report on analyst forecasts for the company.

NB: The figures in this article are calculated using the last twelve months’ data, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last day of the month in which the financial statements are dated. This may not match the figures in the annual report.

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This Simply Wall St article is of a general nature. We comment solely on the basis of historical data and analyst forecasts, using an unbiased methodology. Our articles do not constitute financial advice. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stock and does not take into account your objectives or financial situation. Our goal is to provide you with long-term analysis based on fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not take into account the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative materials. Simply Wall St does not hold any of the stocks mentioned.