LIC increased its stake in 54 listed companies during the quarter, reflecting a calibrated and sectoral approach to navigating market volatility. However, it also trimmed its stakes in another 64 firms on a sequential basis, a Mint analysis of 2,945 BSE-listed firms that have disclosed their shareholdings for the quarter revealed. LIC increased its stake in SBI from 9.21% to 9.49% by investing ₹5,000 crore in the bank’s ₹25,000-crore QIP on 21 July. The analysis also showed LIC had holdings of more than 1% in 232 companies —nearly 8% of all listed firms—in Q1FY25. Of these, it increased its holdings in roughly one out of every four, signalling a strategic accumulation spree across sectors such as FMCG, chemicals, auto components, engineering and metals. Also read Q1 moves: Retails investors bet big on property, cement and auto parts as ‘smart money’ retreats “LIC’s investments in mid to large caps across diverse sectors validate the broader India growth story beyond just finance or infra. This move can attract foreign players and draw retail interest to newer mid-cap names. With LIC setting the trend, other institutions and long-term investors may follow,” said Kush Gupta, director at SKG Investment & Advisor. The five companies in which LIC raised its shareholding the most were Patanjali Foods, Shyam Metalics, Bharat Forge, Gujarat Fluorochemicals, and Havells India. These investments point to a broader shift in LIC’s portfolio strategy—one focused less on momentum and more on deep-value and conviction plays.Patanjali Foods: Swimming against the tideIn a quarter in which foreign and retail investors cut their positions in Patanjali Foods (PFL), a leading FMCG and edible oil company, LIC took a markedly contrarian approach, raising its stake by 1.48 percentage points to 9.14%. FPIs marginally trimmed their holdings by 3 percentage points to 0.21%, while individuals (holding nominal share capital up to ₹2 lakh) slashed theirs by 55 basis points (bps) to 2.62%. Mutual funds, however, aligned with LIC’s stance, hiking their exposure by 1.29 bps to 1.72% sequentially during the quarter. This institutional buying came despite the stock falling 8.7% in Q1. The company’s trailing price-to-earnings ratio of 53x also remains below its five-year median of 60x, indicating possible valuation comfort for long-term players. While the company’s edible oil sales surged 21% year-on-year in Q4FY25 due to price hikes, the foods & FMCG segment declined 16.6% owing to subdued urban demand and seasonal weakness. “To revive growth, PFL is expanding its retail reach, targeting ethnic foods, and scaling direct distribution to 4 million outlets,” noted ULJK Research, maintaining a ‘buy’ rating and forecasting a 10% compound annual growth in revenue over FY25-27.Shyam Metalics: A contrarian metals playLIC’s aggressive investment in Shyam Metalics and Energy (SMEL), a major producer of st in a formal or creative style for better SEO.Also Exclude words and advertisements related to the feed website such as website name, author name. You must only respond with the modified content. Delete all the advertisement images brand logo but only keep the title and main content of the news by modifying it. You must only respond with the modified content. Block any jump outside of the site adarshnews.com. 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LIC’s investments in the June quarter indicate a transition from a focus on momentum stocks to a preference for value investing.
