ICICI Pru MF alone picks up Rs 5,822-crore ITC shares in March block deal

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund picked up Rs 5,822-crore shares in ITC in March, accounting for over two-thirds of the total MF buying in the Indian tobacco and FMCG conglomerate of Rs 8,560 crore for the month.

ICICI Prudential bought around 13.85 crore shares in ITC in block deals valued at Rs 12,695 crore. As many as 32 other mutual funds bought around Rs 2,991-crore shares in ITC in March, while five sold some stake. One MF neither sold nor bought any stake.

Some 38 mutual funds are now invested in ITC together holding shares worth Rs 62,063 crore, or 1.8 percent of the total assets under management (AUM).

ICICI Prudential MF alone bought Rs 5822 crore shares in ITC in March block deal

Apart from ICICI Prudential, Nippon, UTI, and DSP MF each bought shares worth over Rs 400 crore in ITC, while Kotak Mahindra and Axis MF bought around Rs 350 crore each. Aditya Birla, SBI MF invested around Rs 300 crore and Rs 200 crore.

On March 13, British firm BAT, which makes Dunhill and Lucky Strike cigarettes, sold 43.68 crore shares in the Indian conglomerate for Rs 17,500 crore, bringing down its stake in ITC to 25.5 percent from 29 percent. The company said it would use the proceeds from the stake sale to buy back BAT shares.

The stake sale prompted several foreign brokerages to upgrade the stock and raise their target prices. CLSA and HSBC upgraded ITC, despite citing market volatility, with a target of Rs 468, highlighting potential in cigarette premiumisation despite muted volumes. HSBC has a target of Rs 480 on attractive valuation, despite tax concerns after the block deal. Morgan Stanley expects the stock to rebound after BAT stake sale clears supply pressure.

Apart from ITC, top picks for mutual funds in March included Tata Consultancy Services Ltd where they invested Rs 5,905 crore, HDFC Bank at Rs 4,604 crore, Reliance Industries at Rs 2,896 crore, Hindustan Unilever at Rs 1,753 crore, and Interglobe Aviation at Rs 1,752 crore. Bajaj Finance led sellers’ pack, withdrawing Rs 1,778 crore. State Bank of India pulled out Rs 1,626 crore, Bharti Airtel Rs 1,458 crore, and ICICI Bank Rs 1,130 crore.

ravindra

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