The Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund boosted its holdings of Indian cigarette maker ITC Ltd and Coal India when valuations were low, according to the company's chief investment officer, Rajeev Thakkar. The fund's return of 14% this year has outperformed 90% of its peers due to Thakkar's contrarianism against ESG mandates. Global funds have trimmed their exposure to tobacco, coal, and oil companies in recent years to comply with ESG guidelines. Thakkar is guided by the strategies of ITC and Coal India to pivot away from their traditional businesses towards agriculture, renewable energy, and the consumer space.

We examine the key fundamentals of the fund, its portfolio and performance to help you make an informed investment decision.

WHO had said non-sugar sweeteners such as aspartame and stevia do not help in weight loss, while increasing risk of certain diseases. Health groups had called for 'restrictive use only' messages on all foods and drinks with artificial sweeteners.

Most retail investors when buying stocks focus more on capital appreciation than the potential of sustained dividend. That is why they should pay special attention to brokerage CLSA’s latest edition of Bits and Pieces

Foreign investors have increased inflows into Indian stocks to a nine-month high in May. They purchased a net $5bn of the countrys shares last month, the most since August, according to Bloomberg. The purchases continued for 24 consecutive days, the longest string since August last year. The surge in investment has propelled Indian equities to the top of emerging Asia's leaderboard, with the Nifty 50 Index up over 6%. The robust growth of the Indian economy is a significant selling point for foreign investors, particularly with China exhibiting less momentum and fears growing in the US of an economic downturn.

Vidya Polymer and Shanti GD Ispat and Power are the two other bidders; Shakti Bhog foods has defaulted on Rs 7,000 crore of bank loans and is undergoing insolvency proceedings.

I would say that there is a balance here. In our discussions with fund managers, we find two more popular trades, particularly for people dealing money with India. I think there is a bigger population of fund managers who are far more micro and stock specific. And on the other hand, there is also a section of fund managers who want to avoid being tactical at all.

Wealth managers believe the Nifty Next 50 represents the next rung of liquid securities after the Nifty 50 and recommend an allocation to this index for equity investors. The Nifty Next 50 trades at a one-year forward price-earnings ratio of 28, compared with its five-year average of 28.93, making valuations reasonable.

The maker of Surf and Dove decarbonised operations with 97% reduction in CO2 emissions per ton of production against the 2008 baseline. It has been plastic neutral since 2021. About 95% of its paper and board in packaging, 82% of tomatoes and 69% of tea came from sustainable sources. It also delivered a combined water potential of over 2.6 trillion litres.

Rajiv Jain, chief investment officer at GQG Partners, has reaffirmed his fund's commitment to India, holding around $13bn in the country's stocks, despite broader investor worries about corporate governance and political risk. Jain added that he and his colleagues were looking to buy more, with Indian infrastructural projects presenting new opportunities. He also defended his decisions to invest some $2.5bn into beleaguered conglomerate Adani Group.

The new manufacturing facility of Bastian Solutions is nearly two acres in area.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has become the first team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) history to win the tournament for the fifth time. The franchise has also become one of the most popular in the unlisted market since its debut in 2017-18 - with shares starting to trade at about Rs23-28. Before the franchise's recent win the stock was trading at Rs145-150, this has increased by 15% to Rs168 since the victory.

Shares of ITC, India's conglomerate, have surged over 2% in intraday trade on Tuesday to Rs 449.85 per share, hitting multiple record highs in recent months. The company has proposed demerging its hotel business, which recorded a bumper revenue growth of 99% to Rs 809 crore and posted a profit of Rs 205 crore before tax, for the first time, as business recovery increased. ITC shares also trade ex-dividend on Tuesday, with the board recommending a final dividend of Rs 6.75 and a special dividend of Rs 2.75 per equity share, which will be paid between August 14th and 17th to eligible shareholders.

ITC declared a final dividend of Rs 6.75 per share and a special dividend of Rs 2.75 per share of Re 1 each for the quarter ended March 2023. The dividend shall be paid to entitled shareholders on or before August 17

Among Sensex stocks, UltraTech Cement, ITC and HCL Tech were the top gainers, rising over 1% each. Kotak Bank, Titan, NTPC, Wipro, Bajaj Finance and Tech Mahindra also opened higher. On the flip side, Nestle, SBI, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, and Asian Paints opened in the red.

Jubilant Pharmova has posted a net loss of Rs 98 crore in the fourth quarter ended March. Revenue from operations during the quarter stood at Rs 1,660 crore.

Despite a muted Q4 show amid lingering inflationary headwinds, the analyst community’s love affair with HUL has only increased.

ITC's shares hit a record high on Monday before it went ex-dividend on May 30. The company's board recommended a final dividend of Rs 6.75 and a special dividend of Rs 2.75 per equity share, which, along with the interim dividend of Rs 6 per share, will total Rs 15.50 for FY 2022-2023. The stock has been in an uptrend and traders can look to accumulate the stock on dips with a target of Rs 460 in the next 2-3 weeks. An equity dividend yield of 1.35% was offered in the last 12 months.

ITC, Infosys and SBI will trade ex-dividend this week. ITC's board recommended a final dividend of Rs 6.75 and a special dividend of Rs 2.75 per equity share. SBI declared a dividend of Rs 11.30 per equity share and the payment date is fixed on June 14. On the other hand, Infosys has announced to pay a final dividend of Rs 17.50 per equity share. The record dates for the dividend payments have also been announced.

Indias rural heartland bets on the monsoon — forecast to be delayed, but normal, this year. But El Niño could play joker in the pack, and drag rural consumption down.

The case is part of a sprawling intellectual property dispute between the former collaborators that includes other lawsuits in the US, Canada, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

The FMCG index has rallied 11% in the last three months against a 6% gain in the Nifty. ITC contributed to 57% of the rally in the FMCG index in the past three months, while HUL, Varun Beverages, and Nestle contributed a little over 27%.

Elixir Equities Director, Dipan Mehta, argues that new age companies such as Zomato, Policy Bazaar, Nykaa, and Paytm are stocks of the decade of the 2030s and could be huge multibaggers over the next 5-10 years. However, these companies are still in their investment phase, which reflects in their P&L, although they are making strong efforts to get into EBITDA positive. Regarding concerns about Page's decline, Mehta suggests that a demand slump due to higher inflation and uncertainty around weather patterns may have impacted Page industries.

FMCG sector has seen buying interest from FIIs due to net cash flow companies with high brands and distribution, but the result numbers have not been encouraging. The market is seeing a lot of money coming in due to global inflows. The cement sector is expected to perform well in terms of volume growth and margins. The auto industry is cyclical and dominated by different companies based on introducing new models, making sure new models are successful, and having pricing power.

Sanjiv Puri took over as President-Designate of CII for the year 2023-24. He is the Chairman and Managing Director of ITC Limited. ITC is a large conglomerates with business spanning Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), hotels, paperboards and packaging, agri-business and information technology.

The Nifty FMCG index hit a new record high of 49,825 in intraday trade, and the BSE FMCG index also hit a record high. In the same sector, historical data suggests that FMCG stocks outperform the broader market during correction phases and Piyush Chaudhry recommended three FMCG stocks for trading

Indian markets are likely to continue their rally thanks to benign liquidity, stronger-than-expected results so far in the current quarter, and diminishing pressures on pricing. Underperforming sectors such as pharmaceuticals as well as capital goods, consumer durables and defence companies offer good opportunities. Stocks of safe bets, like ITC, Britannia and HUL, are doing well due to favourable valuations and strengthening ownership in a scenario of intense uncertainty before the election.

🌟Intraday Stock for tomorrow 25.05.2023🌟👇🚨#ITC

Shares of ITC have reached a new 52-week high, gaining 5% in five consecutive trading sessions and trading with high volume. The stock surpassed the price target of Rs 440 set by BoFA following the announcement of its Q4FY23 earnings, which reported a 23% YoY growth in consolidated net profit. Despite its ascent, the stock has had low volatility and traded with a 1-month beta of 0.43, according to Trendlyne data. Brokerage Nuvama has retained a ‘BUY on ITC with a SoTP-based target price of Rs 500.

Among the Sensex stocks, Tata Motors, Wipro, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, and Sun Pharma opened in the red, while Power Grid, ITC, Kotak Bank, Nestle, M&M, and HUL opened with gains.

ITC's profitability in FMCG and hotels should be generating profits, and the company should deliver on their promise of separating these businesses and floating them separately to unlock value. The distribution restrains and give-and-take happening between United Spirits and the government to constrain the margins is the biggest challenge. Rural economy is expected to boost consumption and most staples should do well. It is time to focus on two-wheelers such as Bajaj, who has done well, and Hero, who still needs to catch up.

The intervention by the DGFT follows incidents where India-made cough syrups imported into Gambia were allegedly found to be contaminated with diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG), resulting in acute kidney injury (AKI) cluster among children.

From the Sensex pack, Sun Pharma, Titan, ITC, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra and Power Grid were the top gainers, while Infosys, Nestle, Kotak Bank, HUL, Tata Steel closed lower.

Dolly Jha joins BARC from Nielsen Media India, where she was the managing director. At Nielsen, she led large audience measurement mandates for multiple industry bodies. She has also steered the launch of various industry-first solutions in the digital measurement space in India. She has worked extensively with broadcasters, agencies, and publishers and strongly believes in a collaborative team spirit.

Indian households are reducing their debts at a faster pace than most emerging economies, making domestic consumption an attractive sector for investment, according to Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath. Data shows household debt as a percentage of GDP fell from 42% in 2008 to 35.5% in 2022, while corporate debt dropped from 107.3% to 87.7%. Conversely, the government's debt rose from 71.6% in 2008 to 82.1% in 2022. As Indian companies have cut debt, there is room for further capital expenditure and less financial risk.

ITC, incorporated in the year 1910, is a Large Cap company (having a market cap of Rs 526637.25 Crore) operating in Tobacco sector.

Foreign portfolio investors have consistently increased their stakes in India's ITC, making the cigarette-to-hotels firm the best-performing stock in the consumer staples sector with gains of 62% over the past year. Meanwhile, retail investors have been reducing their holdings of the company for three consecutive quarters. Mutual fund activity in ITC has been volatile, with an overall trimming of stakes in Q1. The cumulative holding of retail investors in FMCG bellwether Hindustan Unilever was 10.61% at the end of Q1 compared with 11.20% at the end of Q2 2021.

We examine the key fundamentals of the fund, its portfolio and performance to help you make an informed investment decision.

Motilal Oswal is bullish on ITC recommended buy rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 485 in its research report dated May 18, 2023.

The Reserve Bank of India's decision to withdraw circulation of INR 2,000 banknotes has brought back memories of demonetisation for many Indians. However, for equity investors, this does not change much. Nineteen Sensex stocks, including ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and State Bank of India, are available below INR 2,000, with ITC being the top-performing stock year-to-date. Tata Motors, another favoured stock on Dalal Street, may have more upside potential. Additionally, about 406 stocks that are part of the BSE 500 index trade below INR 2,000.

Prabhudas Lilladher recommended accumulate rating on ITC with a target price of Rs 455 in its research report dated May 18, 2023.