Promoter holding
Promoter holding is the percentage of a company's shares held by its promoters, the founders or controlling group, as disclosed in the quarterly shareholding pattern. The quarter-on-quarter change shows whether they are buying or selling.
Listed Indian companies file a shareholding pattern every quarter that splits ownership into promoter, public, FII and DII holdings. `promoter_pct` is the promoter share from the latest pattern filed as of the scan date, and `promoter_change_qoq` is the difference in percentage points from the filing before it. The figures are point-in-time, so a scan sees each filing when the market did, and a run against last year does not use this year's ownership.
Two questions get asked of it. The level, in scans like High promoter holding, is a float question: at 70% promoter ownership the tradable float is thin, which magnifies flows in both directions and concentrates the information in the hands most exposed to the outcome. The change is a conviction question. Promoters raising their stake, through open-market buying or a preferential issue, are the one class of buyer who cannot claim ignorance, and the Promoter buying and Promoter selling scans key on `promoter_change_qoq` for that reason.
The caveats are structural. Promoter holding is disclosed quarterly, so the field steps rather than moves and can be up to three months stale on any given day. A rise can be a preferential allotment rather than buying, and a fall can be a mandated dilution to meet the 25% minimum public float rather than a loss of faith. `promoter_pledged_pct` carries the share of the promoter stake pledged as collateral, and it is the companion check: high holding with heavy pledging is a very different balance sheet from high holding unencumbered.
Its siblings are the other ownership fields from the same filing: `fii_pct` and `dii_pct` for institutional holding, `public_pct` for the float, and `promoter_pledged_pct`. Coverage follows the fundamentals backfill, so stocks without a filing on record are NULL and never match, and the scan page says so.
In Sift
Written as promoter_pct — a percentage, 0-100; promoter_change_qoq — change in percentage points against the previous quarter. A working scan — Majority promoter-owned companies whose promoters added to their stake last quarter:
where promoter_pct > 50 and promoter_change_qoq > 01
of the 500 most-traded NSE stocks match today, as of 25 Sept 2026
Scans that use it
Prebuilt scans in the library whose query reads this value — each with a hit-rate replay over the last 250 sessions.
Promoters buying
Promoter stake up more than half a percentage point last quarter, in a stock above its 200-day average.
Promoters selling
Promoter stake cut by more than a percentage point in one quarter.
High promoter holding in an uptrend
Promoters holding over 70% with the price above its 200-day average. A tight float and aligned owners.
Common questions
Is high promoter holding good?
It aligns the controlling group with minority holders and thins the float, which makes a stock move further on the same flow. That is an advantage in an uptrend and a hazard in a decline. It is a structural fact rather than a signal on its own, and the more informative number is usually the change, because promoters buying is a stronger statement than promoters merely owning.
How often does promoter holding update?
Quarterly, with the shareholding pattern each listed company files after the quarter ends. The field steps on the filing date and holds until the next one, so it can be up to three months old on any given day. Scans read the filing as known on the scan date.
What does promoter pledging mean?
That promoters have offered part of their shares as collateral for loans. A high pledged percentage means a falling price can force lenders to sell those shares, which is why heavy pledging alongside high holding is a warning rather than a comfort. The `promoter_pledged_pct` field carries it for a separate condition.