Revealed: Most bought stocks by mutual funds in February 2024

The highest MoM net buying in Feb 2024 was observed in HDFC Life and Adani Enterprises

HDFC Life,  Adani Enterprises, Britannia, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Wipro were the most bought Nifty50 stocks by mutual funds in February 2024, while n Devyani Intl, Indus Towers, Godrej Properties, Aditya Birla Capital, and Oil India were the most bought in the mid-cap space, shows data analysed by brokerage Motilal Oswal.

In the small-cap space, the highest month-on-month net buying in February 2024 was witnessed in Kalyan Jewellers, Data Patterns, Mahanagar Gas, Latent View Analytics, and Indiamart Intermesh.

Among the top 25 schemes by assets under management, the following reported the highest MoM increase: Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund (+3.9% MoM change in NAV), Axis Midcap Fund (+3.4% MoM), Nippon India Large Cap Fund (+3% MoM), HDFC Flexi Cap Fund (+3% MoM), and Axis Bluechip Fund (+2.6% MoM).

In February 2024, divergent interests were seen within sectors. The top 10 stocks that saw the maximum month-on-month increase in value were SBI, Reliance Industries, TCS, Maruti Suzuki, Power Grid Corp., Whirlpool of India, ICICI Bank, M&M, Coal India, and L&T.

The stocks that witnessed the maximum month-on-month decline in value were ITC, Hindalco Industries, Bajaj Finance, One 97 Communications, Bharti Airtel, Cholamandalam Investment & Finance, NHPC, REC, Ashok Leyland, and NMDC.

February saw notable changes in the sector and stock allocation of funds. On a monthly basis, the weights of Capital Goods, Oil & Gas, PSU Banks, Insurance, Consumer Durables, Technology, Utilities, Retail, and Real Estate increased, while that of NBFCs, Private Banks, Consumer, Metals, Automobiles, Cement, and Chemicals moderated.  

1. Capital Goods’ weight increased to a 91-month high of 7.7%  in Feb’24. The sector now ranks fourth in MF allocation – it was in the sixth position a year back.
2. Oil & Gas’ weight rose for the third consecutive month to a 20-month high of 6.9% (+30bp MoM and +40bp YoY) in Feb’24.
3. Private Banks’ weight declined for the seventh consecutive month to a 26-month low of 16.7% (-30bp MoM, -220bp YoY) in Feb’24.
4. Consumer’s weight declined for the fourth consecutive month to 5.8% (-30bp MoM, -120bp YoY) in Feb’24 – the lowest since Dec’16.

Total equity value for the top 20 AMCs increased 2.1% MoM (+50 per cent YoY) in February 2024 vs. a 1.2% MoM rise (+27% YoY) for the Nifty-50.

Among the Top 10 funds, the maximum MoM increase was seen in Nippon India Mutual Fund (+3.4%) followed by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund (+2.4%), Mirae Asset Mutual Fund (+2.2%), HDFC Mutual Fund (+1.9%), and Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund (+1.9%).

The top sectors where MF ownership vis-à-vis the BSE 200 is at least 1% higher: Healthcare (16 funds over-owned), Capital Goods (15 funds over-owned), NBFCs (10 funds over-owned), Chemicals (10 funds over-owned), and Consumer Durables (9 funds over-owned).
 

The top sectors where MF ownership vis-à-vis the BSE 200 is at least 1% lower: Consumer (19 funds under-owned), Oil & Gas (18 funds under-owned), Technology (15 funds under-owned), Private Banks (14 funds under-owned), and Utilities (13 funds under-owned).