What is a shareholding pattern?
It is a table that shows who owns a listed company's shares, filed with the stock exchanges. SEBI's listing rules call it the "holding of specified securities".[S1]
Companies file it every quarter, within 21 days of the quarter's end. They also file it a day before listing, and within 10 days of a capital change of more than 2%.[S1]
What are the main groups in the filing?
SEBI divides every holder into one of three groups.[S2]
- Promoter and promoter group (A): the founders or parent company that control the business, and the people and firms linked to them.
- Public (B): everyone else who owns shares directly, from mutual funds and foreign investors to individuals.
- Non-promoter non-public (C): shares held by employee benefit trusts, and shares behind some depository receipts.
A depository receipt is a certificate traded abroad that stands for shares held in India. Shares behind receipts that do not give holders voting instructions, or are not listed abroad, sit in group C.[S2]
Promoter and public percentages are worked out on A, B and the employee-trust part of C. Shares behind such depository receipts are left out of that base.[S2]
Why does a company show no promoter at all?
Some companies have no promoter group. Their founders sold out long ago, or the shares are spread across many owners.
HDFC Bank is one example: No promoter group (Q2 FY27). Its ownership section shows the shares behind its US-listed depositary shares as a separate block.
What is in each table?
The format has six parts.[S2]
| Table | What it shows |
|---|---|
| I | A one-page summary of all three groups |
| II | Each promoter and promoter-group holder by name, with pledged and encumbered shares |
| III | Public holders by type, such as mutual funds, foreign portfolio investors and individuals |
| IV | Non-promoter non-public holders |
| V | Significant beneficial owners: people who ultimately control a holding |
| VI | Foreign ownership limits approved by the board, and how much is used |
Table II must list promoter-group members even if they hold nothing.[S2] The pledge columns are explained in what promoter pledging means.
In Table III, every public holder with 1% or more of the shares is named.[S2] This is where large investors appear by name.
What does "public" mean in the filing?
In the filing, "public" is wide. It includes institutions such as mutual funds, insurance companies and foreign portfolio investors.[S2]
Cityfort pages split it in three. Foreign institutions show as FII, Indian institutions as DII, and the rest as "Public".
See it in real companies
Foreign institutional holding at companies on Cityfort
17 companies on Cityfort, listed A–Z (not ranked).
- Asian Paints
- 13.76%Q2 FY27 · source S31
- Bharti Airtel
- 25.45%Q2 FY27 · source S26
- Hindustan Unilever
- 9.26%Q2 FY27 · source S54
- ICICI Bank
- 34.69%Q2 FY27 · source S52
- Kalyani Steels
- 1.78%Q3 FY26 · source S28
- Kotak Mahindra Bank
- 24.65%Q2 FY27 · source S65
- Reliance Industries
- 16.67%Q2 FY27 · source S44
From each company's filings, as cited on its Cityfort stock page. These figures change when a stock page is updated.
Why does the minimum public shareholding rule matter?
Every listed company must keep public shareholding of at least 25%.[S3] So promoters cannot own the whole company while it stays listed.
Large new listings get a set number of years to reach 25%, and the government can exempt companies it controls.[S3]
When a promoter group holds more than this allows, the company has to bring it down. SEBI's rules list the ways, such as selling shares to the public.[S2]
See it in real companies
Promoter holding at companies on Cityfort
17 companies on Cityfort, listed A–Z (not ranked).
- Asian Paints
- 52.65%Q2 FY27 · source S31
- Bharti Airtel
- 50.07%Q2 FY27 · source S26
- Hindustan Unilever
- 61.9%Q2 FY27 · source S54
- ICICI Bank
- No promoter groupQ2 FY27 · source S52
- Kalyani Steels
- 64.7%Q3 FY26 · source S28
- Kotak Mahindra Bank
- 25.87%Q2 FY27 · source S65
- Reliance Industries
- 50.44%Q2 FY27 · source S44
From each company's filings, as cited on its Cityfort stock page. These figures change when a stock page is updated.
How can a promoter's share change without a sale?
A promoter's percentage can fall when the company issues new shares to others. The promoter owns the same number of shares, out of a bigger total.
It can also change through reclassification under Regulation 31A of SEBI's listing rules, which sets conditions and approvals.[S1]
Infosys is an example. On 30 Apr 2026 its board approved a request from two promoter-group members to move to the public category.[S4] The exchanges gave their no-objection on 11 May 2026.[S5]
Where do you find the filing?
On the NSE website, open the shareholding pattern page and search for the company.[S6] BSE has a similar search.[S7]
Each quarter's filing stays online, so you can compare quarters. Cityfort's "Who owns it" section shows up to 12 quarters as a trend.
Changes between quarters often have a filed reason, such as a share sale or a new issue. Our guide on finding NSE and BSE announcements shows where those filings sit.