LIC’s ₹15.49 Lakh Crore Stock Portfolio: L&T, Reliance And Airtel Among Top Q2 Buys As Insurer Adds ₹7,346 Crore In Equities

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) bought shares worth a net ₹7,346 crore in the September quarter, adding to its positions in Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel. It also reduced its holdings in several large companies, including ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and Nestle India.

LIC’s equity portfolio was valued at ₹15.49 lakh crore as of 30 September, according to Prime Database. The figure was 4.97% lower than at the end of the June quarter, despite the insurer being a net buyer of shares during the period.

Its ownership across NSE-listed companies also declined. LIC's share of their total market capitalisation fell to 3.38% from 3.50% in the June quarter, marking a record low. Its holding as a percentage of free-float shares dropped to 6.80% from 7.03%.

LIC, however, remains the country's largest individual asset manager. Its equity portfolio is almost twice the size of that managed by India's biggest mutual fund house, according to Prime Database.

L&T, Reliance And Airtel Lead LIC's Q2 Purchase List

L&T was LIC's biggest purchase during the quarter. The insurer added 1.06 crore shares worth an estimated ₹4,153 crore, even as the engineering and construction major's stock declined 9.25% between July and September.

Reliance Industries ranked second, with LIC buying 3.09 crore shares valued at around ₹3,967 crore. Reliance shares fell 8.26% during the same period.

The insurer also increased its stake in Bharti Airtel by 2.04 crore shares, making a purchase worth approximately ₹3,878 crore. Airtel's stock lost 5.13% in the September quarter.

Several other large-cap stocks also featured on LIC's list of major additions. The insurer bought Maruti Suzuki shares worth ₹2,968 crore, although the stock fell 15.22% during the quarter.

Its purchases also included NTPC shares worth ₹2,926 crore and Power Grid Corporation of India shares worth ₹2,508 crore. Both stocks declined during the period, falling 9.51% and 9.01%, respectively.

LIC Adds To Auto, Cement And Financial Stocks

LIC's other sizeable purchases included Eicher Motors worth ₹2,465 crore and UltraTech Cement worth ₹2,419 crore.

The insurer also bought Mahindra & Mahindra shares worth ₹2,365 crore and Power Finance Corporation shares worth ₹2,261 crore.

Taken together, the estimated net purchases across these 10 companies amounted to ₹29,910 crore. The estimate is based on changes in LIC's shareholding multiplied by the volume-weighted average closing price of each stock during the quarter.

The list shows LIC adding to positions across infrastructure, energy, telecom, automobiles and financial services. Several of its largest purchases were made in stocks that had declined over the three-month period.

The fall in LIC's overall portfolio value, therefore, came alongside fresh buying in a number of large companies. Its shareholding data also shows that the insurer continued to make changes to its portfolio rather than simply holding on to existing positions.

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