LIC Raises Stake In Asian Paints To 7% From 5%

Life Insurance Corp. increased its stake in Asian Paints Ltd. to 7.010% from 5.001% through an open market purchase from Dec. 1 to Dec. 9, according to an exchange filing on Tuesday.

LIC's shareholding in the equity shares of the paints company increased to 6.72 crore shares from approximately 4.8 crore shares. The acquisition took place at an average cost of Rs 2,891.25 , it said.

However, the total cost for the acquisition was not available. Asian Paints has a market capitalisation of Rs 2.3 lakh crore.

On Dec. 9. LIC said it reduced half of its stake in Lupin Ltd. by divesting 92 lakh shares or 2.027% equity. LIC now has a 2.542% stake in Lupin as compared to the previous 4.569%. The sale of shares was conducted from Sept. 30 to Dec. 6.

Last Friday, LIC announced that it increased its stake in Hindalco Industries Ltd. by 0.01%, 2,47,000 lakh shares, for Rs 16.35 crore.

The share price of Asian Paints jumped 0.54% during the day to Rs 2,404.65 apiece on the National Stock Exchange. It closed 0.12% lower at Rs 2,388.90 per share, compared to a 0.04% decline in the benchmark Nifty 50.

The stock has fallen 27.79% on a year-to-date basis. Out of the 39 analysts tracking the company, 10 have a 'buy' rating on the stock, 11 suggest 'hold' and 18 recommend 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average of 12-month analysts' price targets implies a potential upside of 6.8%.