ITC shares slide 3% on block deal buzz; FMCG giant down 29% in 2026
ITC shares opened lower at Rs 264 apiece on the NSE, compared with the previous close of Rs 265.70. The stock subsequently declined as much as 3.16% to Rs 257.30 during the session.
At the time of writing, ITC was trading at Rs 259.40 apiece, down 2.37% from its previous close.
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Trading volumes were elevated, with nearly 39.05 crore ITC shares, estimated to be worth around Rs 10,054.67 crore, changing hands across the BSE and NSE during the session.
At the prevailing market price, ITC’s market capitalisation stood at approximately Rs 3.25 lakh crore on the NSE.
ITC share price performance
The FMCG stock has remained under pressure over the broader period. ITC shares have declined 28.58% so far in 2026 and around 35% over the past year, significantly underperforming the benchmark Nifty 50, which has fallen 14% and 10.25%, respectively, over the corresponding periods, according to exchange data.
ITC shareholding pattern
ITC has no promoter shareholding, with the company’s entire equity held by public shareholders, according to BSE data.
Among the major public shareholders, the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) held a 7.78% stake in ITC as of June 30, while Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) held a 16.3% stake at the end of the June quarter. Mutual funds collectively owned 16.5% of the company.
BSE data also showed that Goldman Sachs Trust II – Goldman Sachs GQG Partners International Opportunities Fund held a 2.06% stake in ITC. In comparison, GQG Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund owned a 1.06% stake.
HDFC Securities on ITC
HDFC Securities maintained its ‘Add’ rating on ITC, with a September 27, 2026, sum-of-the-parts (SoTP)-based target price of Rs 300. The brokerage valued the cigarettes business at Rs 137 per share, based on 11x price-to-earnings, and the Other FMCG business at Rs 98 per share, based on 4x sales.
In a report dated September 28, 2026, analysts Nitin Gupta and Ishant Lalwani said that, instead of a one-shot post-tax hike, ITC had adopted a phased approach to price increases in cigarettes, except for KSFT. Their checks indicated that the bulk of the required price increases were now in place.
The analysts said this should help restore per-stick profitability by Q4FY26. The next leg, they said, hinges on volume recovery, which would be critical to restoring EBIT.
“We continue to factor in a 6% volume decline in FY27, with high-single-digit underlying weakness across 9MFY27. FY28 may still see pressure, with a 3% volume decline on account of sharp pricing. Rising illicit trade remains the key risk to our volume assumptions,” the analysts wrote in the research note.
At current levels, the analysts believe the stock already reflects key risks, including a potential spike in illicit volumes.
Disclosure: This article has been written by Kumar Gaurav, who is not a Sebi-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Gaurav and their ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective Sebi-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclaimers here
