Value buying? LIC upped stake in Adani Enterprises for 7th straight quarter

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), India’s biggest institutional investor, lapped up additional 3.57 lakh shares in Adani Enterprises during the March quarter, the latest shareholding pattern suggests. This was the seventh straight quarter when the insurance behemoth bought additional stake in the Adani group firm.

LIC held 4.26 per cent stake in Adani Enterprises as on March 31 against 4.23 per cent as on December 31, 2022. The March quarter was marked by heavy selling in Adani group shares, thanks to explosive Hindenburg Research report.

The average share price at which Adani Enterprises traded at during the quarter at Rs 2,345.08, down 37 per cent against the average price of Rs 3,723.11 in the December quarter. Shares of the company witnessed massive correction after a report by Hindenburg Research accused the Gautam Adani-led group of stock manipulation, running offshore shell companies for round-tripping and misusing corporate governance practices.

Data showed the insurance major has been increasing its stake in Adani Enterprises since June 2021. LIC held a 1.32 per cent stake in the company in June 2021.

LIC Chairman MR Kumar in March said his team met with the Adani Group's top management amid the whole Adani-Hindenburg issue, adding that LIC was more confident about business prospects of port-to-power conglomerate.

Life Insurance Corporation of India also upped its stake in Adani Green Energy to 1.36 per cent in the March quarter against 1.28 per cent in the preceding quarter ended December 31, 2022. It further bought 5.98 lakh and 4.05 lakh additional shares of Adani Total Gas and Adani Transmission, respectively, during the quarter gone by. LIC’s stake in Adani Total Gas stood at 6.02 per cent in Q4FY23 against 5.96 per cent in Q3FY23, while its holdings in Adani Transmission increased to 3.68 per cent against 3.65 per cent during the same period.

Also read: ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, HDFC Bank: what are the key levels for banking blue-chips?

Also read: TCS to share Q4 results, consider dividend today; Varun Beverages shares to turn ex-dividend