Foreign Portfolio Investors, Mutual Funds Increase Stake In Paytm Slightly

According to a regulatory filing, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and mutual funds have increased their stakes in fintech major Paytm by a small percentage.

As per the fintech’s shareholding pattern as of June 30, 2022, the number of FPIs has reached 83, up from 54 in the quarter ended March 31, 2022. FPIs now hold a 5.45% stake in Paytm, up from 4.42% a quarter earlier, or a 23% jump.

Mutual funds that have invested in Paytm have also seen a similar jump, as the number of mutual funds investing in Paytm went from 3 in Q1 2022 to 19 in Q2 2022. 

However, the stake these mutual funds hold increased very slightly. In Q2 2022, mutual funds held a 1.14% stake in Paytm, up from 1.05% held a quarter before, representing only about a 9% jump in stake.

Insurance companies were also among the entities that increased their stakes in the fintech giant. In Q2 2022, there were three insurance companies that held 95,216 shares of Paytm. In contrast, in Q1 2022 only one insurance company was listed as an investor, holding about 25K shares.

In all, the number of institutional investors increased to 103 in the quarter ended June 2022, up from 61 in Q1 2022. In Q4 2021, Paytm had 147 institutional investors.

Incidentally, the number of retail investors in Paytm reduced significantly over the quarter, even as Paytm has been on the track to recovery after a disastrous first six months on the bourses.

In Q2 2022, there were around 1.174 Mn retail investors in Paytm, holding a collective 6.86% stake in the listed startup. However, the quarter before, the number of retail investors was around 1.24 Mn holding a 7.74% stake in the Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led company.

Speaking of Sharma, his own stake in Paytm increased over the quarter. The founder’s stake reached 8.92% in the quarter ended June 2022, up from the 8.89% it was a quarter ago. Notably, Sharma bought around 1.72 Lakh shares in his company back in May, worth about INR 11 Cr. 

Paytm has had something of a resurgence over the last few weeks on the stock market. After touching record lows which saw it reach INR 510.05 apiece, Paytm’s share price has increased by almost 20% over the last month.

At the close of the day’s business on Thursday (July 21), the company’s shares traded at INR 744.30 apiece.

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