First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund (NASDAQ:GRID) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Trading volume surged 138% as 1,408,887 shares of First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund (GRID) changed hands, with the stock last trading around $178 and up about 0.9%.
• The fund paid a quarterly dividend of $0.1004 (annualized $0.40), implying a 0.2% dividend yield, and the report characterizes the payment as a dividend cut.
• Institutional inflows were notable: Morgan Stanley, LPL Financial, UBS and others materially increased their GRID positions in recent quarters, signaling strong institutional buying.

Shares of First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund (NASDAQ:GRID - ) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 1,408,887 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 138% from the previous session's volume of 592,126 shares.The stock last traded at $178.0370 and had previously closed at $176.53.

First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund Trading Up 0.9%

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $169.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47 and a beta of 1.23.

First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 26th were paid a $0.1004 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 26th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GRID. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,948,976 shares of the company's stock worth $451,252,000 after acquiring an additional 691,924 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,699,802 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,104,000 after acquiring an additional 503,963 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund by 47.3% during the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,527,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,662,000 after purchasing an additional 490,000 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,447,811 shares of the company's stock worth $218,735,000 after purchasing an additional 254,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its holdings in First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,267,833 shares of the company's stock worth $194,004,000 after purchasing an additional 298,762 shares during the last quarter.

About First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund

First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results, which correspond to the price and yield (before the Fund's fees and expenses) of an equity index called the NASDAQ OMX Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index (the Index). The Fund focuses to invest at least 90% of its net assets in common stocks, which comprises the Index or in depositary receipts, which may include American depositary receipts (ADRs), global depositary receipts (GDRs), European depositary receipts (EDRs) or other depositary receipts (collectively Depositary Receipts) representing securities in the Index.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.