LIC’s Biggest Stock Buys and Sells in June Quarter: Rs 16 Lakh Crore Portfolio

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has revealed its largest stock purchases and sales in the June quarter, with a total portfolio value of Rs 16 lakh crore. The insurer’s biggest buying spree was in Bharti Airtel, with an estimated Rs 2,721 crore investment.

LIC’s Biggest Stock Buys in June Quarter

LIC increased its holding in Bharti Airtel by nearly 1.47 crore shares to 25.82 crore shares as of June 30, according to data from PRIME Database. Kotak Mahindra Bank attracted buying worth an estimated Rs 1,520 crore, while LIC deployed Rs 1,491 crore into UltraTech Cement.

Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance, and Lupin followed with estimated purchases of Rs 1,425 crore, Rs 1,414 crore, and Rs 1,375 crore, respectively. Power Grid and Indian Railway Finance Corp. completed the list of LIC’s 10 biggest purchases, attracting Rs 1,340 crore and Rs 1,283 crore.

Notable Stock Purchases

LIC added more than 13.06 crore shares of IRFC, taking its holding to 46.22 crore shares at the end of June. The insurer also increased its stake in Central Bank of India to 6.44%, General Insurance Corp. to 11.65%, Lupin to 4.09%, Oil India to 8.08%, and IRFC to 3.54%.

LIC’s Biggest Stock Sells in June Quarter

Coal India saw the highest selling at Rs 2,271 crore after LIC reduced its holding by nearly 4.97 crore shares. SBI followed with an estimated selling of Rs 2,198 crore as the insurer cut its holding by 2.15 crore shares to 78.14 crore shares.

LIC sold shares worth Rs 1,681 crore in HUL, Rs 1,497 crore in Steel Authority of India (SAIL), and Rs 1,415 crore in Tata Steel.
Bharat Forge, Tata Consumer Products, ICICI Bank, Nestle India, and ONGC were among its other major reductions.

Market Impact and Portfolio Details

Across the broader portfolio covered by the tracker, LIC was a net buyer of an estimated Rs 8,137 crore during the quarter. Its holding increased in 54 NSE-listed companies but declined in 114 companies.

The stocks where LIC raised its holding gained an average 11.19%, while those where it reduced exposure advanced an average 19.52%.
LIC’s share by value in NSE-listed companies declined to an all-time low of 3.48% as of June 30 from 3.72% at the end of March.
Its share of the free-float market also dropped to 6.98% from 7.43%.

Key Takeaways

LIC’s financial services sector exposure increased by Rs 55,288 crore to Rs 4.40 lakh crore, raising the sector’s share of the portfolio to 26.99% from 25.41%.
The value of LIC’s IT holdings declined by Rs 22,067 crore to Rs 1.50 lakh crore, cutting the sector’s portfolio weight to 9.18% from 11.35%.
Reliance Industries remained LIC’s largest stock holding by value at Rs 1.18 lakh crore, followed by SBI at Rs 80,243 crore and Larsen & Toubro at Rs 70,124 crore.

FAQs

What are the key sectors that LIC is exposed to?

LIC’s financial services sector exposure increased by Rs 55,288 crore to Rs 4.40 lakh crore, raising the sector’s share of the portfolio to 26.99% from 25.41%.

How has LIC’s IT portfolio performed?

The value of LIC’s IT holdings declined by Rs 22,067 crore to Rs 1.50 lakh crore, cutting the sector’s portfolio weight to 9.18% from 11.35%.

What are the top 10 holdings in LIC’s portfolio?

Reliance Industries remained LIC’s largest stock holding by value at Rs 1.18 lakh crore, followed by SBI at Rs 80,243 crore and Larsen & Toubro at Rs 70,124 crore.

Conclusion

Investors should use market volatility to gradually increase exposure to well-managed companies rather than attempt to time their entry, with quality large caps offering relatively stronger earnings visibility and balance-sheet resilience, money managers said. Financials, industrials, and capex-linked businesses emerge as preferred areas, although the sharp correction in IT has divided opinion.

Investors should prioritize balance-sheet strength and earnings visibility, maintain exposure to financials and domestic capex-linked businesses, and approach IT and smaller companies through selective, company-specific bets.