New Delhi: Shares of India’s largest paint company Asian Paints jumped over 3% in early morning trades on Thursday, July 12 after a massive block deal of 3.5 crore shares changed hands. Shares were sold at an average price of Rs.2,201 per share, with a total value of Rs.7,703 crore. The buyers and sellers of these shares remain unidentified for now.
This has resulted in an intraday high, outperforming the Nifty 50 index. Major shareholders of Asian Paints include the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) with 8.29% share, various Indian Mutual Funds, including ICICI Prudential MF and SBI MF with a 5.67% stake, and other retail shareholders with 11.84% shares in the company.
Once the poster boy of the Indian stock market, Asian Paint’s financial performance has taken a hit, primarily due to increasing competition and slowing demand. The company reported a 44.9% decline in net profit from Rs.1,256.7 cr in Q4 FY24 to Rs.692.1cr for Q4 FY25.
In May, Reliance Industries sold 4.9% of its stake in the company, reaping 24 times its investment of Rs. 500 crore in 2008.
Many analysts have a sell rating on the stock, as a weakening correlation with macro economic cycles affects the paint industry as a whole.The stock hasn’t made any returns in the last 2-3 years, as investors are now worried whether the stock can continue to offer returns even though the company has offered regular dividend payouts.
