MF holding at all-time high, here's a list of NSE stocks that were most bought

The share of domestic Mutual Funds (MFs) in companies listed on NSE rose to an all-time high of 8.81 per cent as on December 31, 2023, from 8.73 per cent as on September 30, 2023, powered by strong net inflows of Rs 58,198 crore during the quarter, as per primeinfobase.com, PRIME Database Group.

Meanwhile, Life Insurance Corp.of India (LIC), India’s largest institutional investor, saw its share (across 277 companies where its holding is more than 1 per cent) declining to an all-time low of 3.64 per cent as on December 31, 2023 from 3.73 per cent as on September 30, 2023. 

 

"This was primarily on account of profit booking to take advantage of bullish markets. Insurance companies, as a whole, sold a net of Rs 15,622 crore during the quarter, a major part of which is attributable to LIC since LIC commands a lion’s share of investments in equities by insurance companies (at least 68 per cent share or Rs 13.02 lakh crore)," said  Pranav Haldea, Managing Director, PRIME Database Group.

The share of Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) as a whole decreased marginally to 15.96 per cent as on December 31, 2023 from 15.99 per cent as on September 30, 2023, despite net inflows of Rs 54,925 crore during the quarter. The share of Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)^ also declined to 18.19@ per cent as on December 31, 2023, down by 21 bps from 18.40 per cent as on September 30, 2023, again despite net inflows from FIIs of Rs 50,588 crore during the quarter.

Companies which saw the highest increase in mutual fund holdings in percentage terms (top 10) in the last 1  quarter were as follows:

Companies which saw the highest decrease in mutual fund holdings in percentage terms (top 10) in the last one  quarter were as follows:

DIIs seems set to overtake the FIIs in the next few quarters

 The gap between FII and DII holding narrowed further to an all-time low in this quarter with DII holding now being just 12.23 per cent lower than FII holding. The widest gap between FII and DII holding was in quarter ending March 31, 2015, when DII holding was 49.82 per cent lower than FII holding. The FII to DII ownership ratio also decreased to an all-time low of 1.14 as on December 31, 2023 from an all-time high of 1.99 in quarter ending March 31, 2015, noted the report.

Companies which saw the highest increase in mutual fund holdings in value terms (top 10) in the last 1 quarter were as follows:

Companies which saw the highest decrease in mutual fund holdings in value terms (top 10) in the last 1 quarter were as follows:

On an overall basis, in the last quarter, holding of mutual funds went up in 566 companies. The average stock price of  these companies in the same period increased by 14.68 per cent. On the other hand, holding of mutual funds went 

down in 336 companies listed on NSE. The average stock price of these companies in the same period increased by  13.38 per cent.

What did DIIs buy?

DIIs increased their allocation most to Utilities (from 2.93 per cent of their total holding in September 2023 to 3.31 per cent of their total holding in December 2023) while they decreased their allocation most to Financial Services (27.60 to 26.92).

What did FIIs buy?

 FIIs too increased their allocation most to Utilities (3.40 to 3.84) while they decreased their allocation also most to Financial Services (31.90 to 30.90).

Meanwhile, the share of the Government (as promoter) increased to a six-year high of 9.38 per cent as on December 31, 2023 on the back of strong performance of several PSUs, including LIC (The BSE PSU Index rose by 23 per cent as against a 10 per cent increase in Sensex during the period). However, to put this in perspective, over a 15-year period, the share of the Government has declined considerably, from 22.48 per cent as on June 30, 2009, primarily due to the Government’s divestment programme and not enough new listings. 

On the other hand, the share of private promoters declined to a five-year low of 41.31 per cent as on December 31, 2023. Over the last one year alone, it has fallen by 330 basis points from 44.61 per cent on September 30, 2022. According to Haldea, stake sales by promoters to take advantage of bullish markets, relatively lower promoter holding in some of the companies now coming out with IPOs & getting listed and also overall institutionalization of market has resulted in this.

The share of retail investors (individuals with up to Rs 2 lakh shareholding in a company) decreased marginally to 7.57 per cent as on December 31, 2023 from 7.62 percent on September 30, 2023. Retail investors sold a net of Rs 12,163 crore during the quarter. Meanwhile, the share of High Net Worth Individuals (HNIs) (individuals with more than Rs 2 lakh shareholding in a company) increased slightly to 2.06 per cent as on December 31, 2023 from 2.05 percent on September 30, 2023. As such, the combined retail and HNI share declined to 9.63 per cent as on December 31, 2023 from 9.68 per cent as on September 30, 2023. The combined retail, HNI and MF share, however, reached an all-time high of 18.44 per cent as on December 31, 2023.

What got bought the most in the December quarter?

There were 13 companies in which the trinity of promoters, FIIs and DIIs all increased their stake during the quarter these being (in descending order by market capitalisation) Westlife Foodworld, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals, Wonderla Holidays, Ami Organics, Thangamayil Jewellery, Unichem Laboratories, Shankara Building Products, Snowman Logistics, Bajaj Healthcare, Associated Alcohols & Breweries, Macpower CNC Machines, Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals and Chembond Chemicals.