Every investor in Reliance Worldwide Corporation Limited (ASX:RWC) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 60% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
Institutional investors would appreciate the 5.1% increase in share price last week, given their one-year losses have totalled a disappointing 20%.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Reliance Worldwide, beginning with the chart below.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Reliance Worldwide?
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.
Reliance Worldwide 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 Reliance Worldwide's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
ASX:RWC Earnings and Revenue Growth April 28th 2025
Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. Reliance Worldwide is not owned by hedge funds. Australian Super Pty Ltd is currently the largest shareholder, with 11% of shares outstanding. With 8.8% and 6.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, Aware Super Pty Ltd and State Street Global Advisors, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.
We also observed that the top 9 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.
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. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.
Insider Ownership Of Reliance Worldwide
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.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Reliance Worldwide Corporation Limited. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own AU$9.4m worth of shares. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
General Public Ownership
With a 37% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Reliance Worldwide. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Reliance Worldwide better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Reliance Worldwide you should be aware of.
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.
