ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. (TSE:ATA) has caught the attention of institutional investors who hold a sizeable 44% stake – Simply Wall St

If you want to know who really controls ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. (TSE:ATA), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 44% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Since institutional have access to huge amounts of capital, their market moves tend to receive a lot of scrutiny by retail or individual investors. As a result, a sizeable amount of institutional money invested in a firm is generally viewed as a positive attribute.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of ATS Automation Tooling Systems, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for ATS Automation Tooling Systems

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

ATS Automation Tooling Systems 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see ATS Automation Tooling Systems' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

It looks like hedge funds own 19% of ATS Automation Tooling Systems shares. That's interesting, because hedge funds can be quite active and activist. Many look for medium term catalysts that will drive the share price higher. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Mason Capital Management LLC with 19% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 5.1% and 3.7%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 19 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

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

Our information suggests that ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. insiders own under 1% of the company. It is a pretty big company, so it would be possible for board members to own a meaningful interest in the company, without owning much of a proportional interest. In this case, they own around CA$21m 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 36% stake in ATS Automation Tooling Systems. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with ATS Automation Tooling Systems .

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.

Find out whether ATS Automation Tooling Systems is potentially over or undervalued by checking out our comprehensive analysis, which includes fair value estimates, risks and warnings, dividends, insider transactions and financial health.

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ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. (TSE:ATA) has caught the attention of institutional investors who hold a sizeable 44% stake - Simply Wall St