To get a sense of who is truly in control of Quad/Graphics, Inc. (NYSE:QUAD), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 37% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And institutional investors saw their holdings value drop by 14% last week. This set of investors may especially be concerned about the current loss, which adds to a one-year loss of 42% for shareholders. Institutions or "liquidity providers" control large sums of money and therefore, these types of investors usually have a lot of influence over stock price movements. As a result, if the downtrend continues, institutions may face pressures to sell Quad/Graphics, which might have negative implications on individual investors.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Quad/Graphics.

Before we look at the ownership breakdown, you might like to know that our analysis indicates that QUAD is potentially overvalued!

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Quad/Graphics. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Quad/Graphics' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Quad/Graphics. The company's largest shareholder is Quad/graphics, Inc. Voting Trust, with ownership of 23%. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 6.2% and 5.1%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. In addition, we found that J. Quadracci, the CEO has 3.8% of the shares allocated to their name.

We did some more digging and found that 8 of the top shareholders account for roughly 52% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Quad/Graphics, Inc.. Insiders have a US$15m stake in this US$139m business. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 23% stake in Quad/Graphics. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Quad/Graphics better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Quad/Graphics that you should be aware of.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. 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 Quad/Graphics 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.

Simply Wall St's Editorial Team provides unbiased, factual reporting on global stocks using in-depth fundamental analysis. Find out more about our editorial guidelines and team.

Quad/Graphics, Inc. provides marketing solutions worldwide.

The Snowflake is a visual investment summary with the score of each axis being calculated by 6 checks in 5 areas.

Read more about these checks in the individual report sections or in our analysis model.

Slightly overvalued with weak fundamentals.

Simply Wall St's Editorial Team provides unbiased, factual reporting on global stocks using in-depth fundamental analysis. Find out more about our editorial guidelines and team.

Quad/Graphics, Inc. provides marketing solutions worldwide.

The Snowflake is a visual investment summary with the score of each axis being calculated by 6 checks in 5 areas.

Read more about these checks in the individual report sections or in our analysis model.

Slightly overvalued with weak fundamentals.

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