As equity and equity-linked mutual fund schemes continue to witness outflow of funds, Bandhan Bank, Godrej Consumer and Abbott India Ltd were among the top stocks to be sold by mutual funds in the month of January.

As per the data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), equity-linked mutual fund schemes saw a net outflow of Rs 9,253.22 crore last month.

The net outflow stood at Rs 10,147.12 crore in December, Rs 12,917.36 crore in November, Rs 2,724.95 crore in October, and Rs 734.40 crore in September.

Equity funds have witnessed net outflow for the last seven months, largely due to profit booking by traders. A report by ICICI Direct said: “Total outflow in the last seven months is now at Rs 42,000 crore. Investors continue to book profit at higher level.”

The holding of mutual funds in Bandhan Bank at the end of January stood at 3.8 crore shares with a market value of Rs 1,176 crore, down from 5.35 crore with a market valuation of Rs 2,153 crore in December, the report said.

Similarly, the value of mutual fund holding in Godrej Consumer Products Ltd came down to Rs 1,452 crore in January from Rs 1,757 crore in December.

In Abbott India, AMCs held 7 lakh shares by the end of last month, with valuation standing at Rs 1,028 crore down from Rs 1,336 crore for 8 lakh shares in December.

Other large cap companies among the top 10 stocks sold by MFs were HDFC Asset Management Company Ltd, Power Grid Corporation Of India, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Hindustan Zinc, UPL, Petronet LNG and Jubilant FoodWorks.

On the other hand, the top 10 stocks bought by MFs last month include Punjab National Bank, Piramal Enterprises, SBI Cards and Payment Services with market value of mutual funds’ holding at Rs 590 crore, Rs 494 crore and Rs 3,101 crore, respectively, in January.

Bajaj Holdings & Investment, Hindustan Aeronautics and Asian Paints held the third, fourth and fifth place in terms of buying by mutual funds, the ICICI Direct report showed.

In mid-caps, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Astrazeneca Pharma India, and Castrol India were the top sold stocks by MFs last month and Steel Authority Of India Ltd, Jubilant Pharmova, and Polycab India were the top buys.

Vodafone Idea too was among the top bought stocks by AMCs among the midcaps. The market value of holding by AMCs in Vodafone Idea stood at Rs 439 crore by January end, up from Rs 313 crore in December.

The top ‘buys’ among the small cap stocks were Indiabulls Real Estate, Kirloskar Oil Engines and Astec Lifesciences, while the top ‘sells’ were Schneider Electric Infrastructure, Burger King India and Lakshmi Machine Works.

Although equity linked MFs have witnessed net outflows in the past few months, the contributions through systematic investment grew to Rs 8,023.39 crore in January. The SIP inflows had risen to Rs 8,418.11 crore in December from Rs 7,302.16 crore in November.