3P Learning Limited (ASX:3PL) most popular amongst private companies who own 30%, insiders

Key Insights

The considerable ownership by private companies in 3P Learning indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
A total of 3 investors have a majority stake in the company with 70% ownership
Insiders have bought recently

If you want to know who really controls 3P Learning Limited (ASX:3PL), then you’ll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that private companies own the lion’s share in the company with 30% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Individual insiders, on the other hand, account for 21% of the company’s stockholders. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it’s not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies.

Let’s delve deeper into each type of owner of 3P Learning, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for 3P Learning

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About 3P Learning?

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.

3P Learning already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 3P Learning’s earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don’t have a meaningful investment in 3P Learning. Blake Sandblom Trust is currently the largest shareholder, with 29% of shares outstanding. With 20% and 20% of the shares outstanding respectively, Matthew Sandblom and Viburnum Funds Pty Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders. Matthew Sandblom, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Top Key Executive.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 3 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of 3P Learning

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.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of 3P Learning Limited. Insiders own AU$60m worth of shares in the AU$280m company. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 17% stake in 3P Learning. While this group can’t necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Equity Ownership

With an ownership of 20%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and — as the name suggests — don’t invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 30%, of the 3P Learning stock. It’s hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

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. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we’ve spotted with 3P Learning .

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.