Thomson Reuters Corporation

How to read US ownership activity

US companies do not file the promoter/FII/DII breakdown used in India. Instead, these are ownership filings made to the SEC. Here is how a beginner approaches them.

• Forms 3, 4, and 5 are insider filings — buys and sells by officers, directors, and large owners. A cluster of open-market purchases reads differently from routine option-related sales, so the filing detail matters.
• Schedules 13D and 13G appear when someone crosses 5% ownership. 13D signals an active interest, 13G a passive one.
• A single filing rarely means much on its own; readers look at the pattern over time and always open the linked SEC document for the specifics rather than inferring from the label alone.

Educational only — not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security.