Hello,

When u check the stock value of any company on Google Finance, there is an item that states, "Inst. Own:". For exp. please see IBM - International Business Machines Corp. - Google Finance (http://finance.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:IBM) or go to finance.google.com and type IBM. Right above the graph, on the right-hand side, u will see this item. Can someone explain what that meas ? Is the higher value better or worse?

thanks in advance.

That is the amount of shares that institutions own. In the IBM example institutions own 60% of the shares. If you go to MSN Money or Yahoo Finance you can get a breakdown of the major institutional and mutual fund owners.

Is higher better or worse? Like any other statistic there are different opinions. It really depends on the individuals investment views and strategy.

It is more important when u see a change in that figure. If a company has the ability to and does buy back large quantities of shares, it is usually an indicator of company growth and success. Shareholders notice and usually follow suit