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Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in QBE Insurance Group indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy

• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 42% ownership

• Insiders have sold recently

Every investor in QBE Insurance Group Limited (ASX:QBE) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 54% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Institutions, on the other hand, account for 45% of the company's stockholders. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of QBE Insurance Group.

Check out our latest analysis for QBE Insurance Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About QBE Insurance Group?

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 the register, especially if they are growing.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in QBE Insurance Group. 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 QBE Insurance Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

QBE Insurance Group is not owned by hedge funds. AustralianSuper Pty. Ltd. is currently the largest shareholder, with 8.4% of shares outstanding. State Street Global Advisors, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 5.8% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 5.4% of the company stock.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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.