ITC starts sending dividend money to 36 lakh shareholders, Rs 1,800 crore payout for LIC alone

India's largest insurer LIC will likely receive a hefty dividend of about Rs 1,802 crore as cigarettes-to-hotels major ITC on Monday started the process of paying out dividends to its 30 lakh shareholders.

ITC shareholders as of the record date of May 30 will get a final dividend of Rs 6.75 per share and a special dividend of Rs 9.75 per share. The total comes to Rs 9.50 per share.

After the dividend was approved at ITC annual general meeting (AGM) last Friday, the company started crediting the money to eligible shareholders today. The process will be completed by this Thursday.

Considering June-end's shareholding data, LIC owns a 15.26% stake or about 189.69 crore shares. The total payout for the PSU company would turn out to be around Rs 1,802 crore.

For LIC, ITC is its second-largest bet after Reliance Industries (RIL).

Besides LIC, other PSU insurers The Oriental Insurance Company, The New India Assurance Company, and General Insurance Corporation of India also own more than 1% stake in the FMCG stock.
Indian government's Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) owns another 7.84% stake in ITC.

Retail investors, as those defined with holdings of less than Rs 2 lakh in the stock, own over 11%.

ITC shares, which have lost over 10% after reaching a 52-week high of Rs 499.60, are in focus as the company's management started the process of demerging hotels into a separate subsidiary.

It is expected that ITC Hotels will get listed on stock exchanges in the next 12-18 months following approval from regulators, including NCLT.

"With new vectors of growth and competitiveness ITC is nurturing mega trends in digital through Foodtech, ITCMAARS, Master-Chef, Sunfeast-baked-creations to create a future-ready portfolio seeking structural competitiveness," Centrum Broking said while giving a target price of Rs 486 on the stock.