Do public companies actually know where their issued stock is and who holds it?

Question

Are public companies able to see how much of their stock is held within each trading platform and who owns it?

In: Economics

Answer 1

Sort of. The person who benefits from the stock is rarely the one holding it directly. For example, I might own shares of a mutual fund that holds the stock. But actually I don’t own part of the mutual fund directly, either, it is held “in street name,” which is to say my broker owns it for me. In this way there can be many layers between the corporation and investor. The corporation knows who formally owns the stocks, but not who the beneficial owners are who actually get the dividends and other benefits in the end.