First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund (NASDAQ:MDIV) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in MDIV surged 107.4% in March to 95,710 shares (roughly 0.4% of shares sold short), leaving a days-to-cover ratio of about 1.7 based on average volume.
• Dividend increase: MDIV raised its monthly payout to $0.134 (ex-dividend March 26, payable March 31), implying a roughly 10.0% yield versus the prior $0.08 monthly dividend.
• Institutional buying picked up in Q4, with Royal Bank of Canada holding 409,695 shares and Rockefeller Capital Management increasing to 180,203 shares, signaling growing manager interest.

First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund (NASDAQ:MDIV - ) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 95,710 shares, a growth of 107.4% from the February 26th total of 46,147 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 57,805 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MDIV. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 180,203 shares of the company's stock worth $2,833,000 after buying an additional 20,826 shares in the last quarter. TMB Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $657,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 170,098 shares of the company's stock worth $2,674,000 after acquiring an additional 18,087 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its position in shares of First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 16,026 shares of the company's stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 3,733 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 409,695 shares of the company's stock worth $6,441,000 after purchasing an additional 42,304 shares in the last quarter.

First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund Price Performance

MDIV stock traded down $0.16 on Thursday, reaching $16.14. 71,523 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 82,447. First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund has a 12 month low of $14.74 and a 12 month high of $16.81. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $16.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $402.69 million, a PE ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 0.62.

First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.134 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 26th. This is a positive change from First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund's previous monthly dividend of $0.08.

First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund Company Profile

The Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund (MDIV) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in target outcome asset allocation. The fund tracks an index of equal-weighted US-listed securities, comprised of dividend-paying equities, REITs, preferred securities, MLPs, and a high-yield bond ETF. MDIV was launched on Aug 14, 2012 and is managed by First Trust.

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