Key Insights

Institutions' substantial holdings in Cleanaway Waste Management implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price The top 9 shareholders own 50% of the company Insiders have sold recently

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A look at the shareholders of Cleanaway Waste Management Limited (ASX:CWY) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 67% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And as as result, institutional investors reaped the most rewards after the company's stock price gained 4.3% last week. One-year return to shareholders is currently 3.4% and last week’s gain was the icing on the cake.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Cleanaway Waste Management.

See our latest analysis for Cleanaway Waste Management ASX:CWY Ownership Breakdown October 5th 2025

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Cleanaway Waste Management?

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.

Cleanaway Waste Management 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Cleanaway Waste Management, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.ASX:CWY Earnings and Revenue Growth October 5th 2025

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Cleanaway Waste Management is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Challenger Limited is the largest shareholder with 7.2% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 6.3% and 6.1%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

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.

Story Continues

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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Cleanaway Waste Management

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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Cleanaway Waste Management Limited in their own names. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own AU$6.4m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can  click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 32% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Cleanaway Waste Management better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that  Cleanaway Waste Management is showing  1 warning sign in our investment analysis, you should know about...

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.

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