First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund (NASDAQ:MDIV) Short Interest Up 282.9% in August

Key Points

• MDIV short interest surged 282.9% to 59,474 shares as of August 31, representing 0.2% of shares outstanding and a 1.2-day days-to-cover ratio.
• The ETF opened at $16.60, within its 12-month range of $15.52 to $17.02, with a $424.1 million market capitalization and a beta of 0.54.
• MDIV increased its monthly dividend from $0.07 to $0.115 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 8.3%; institutional ownership also grew, led by a 147% increase from Ameriprise Financial.

First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund (NASDAQ:MDIV - ) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 59,474 shares, an increase of 282.9% from the August 15th total of 15,531 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 49,488 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days.

First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund Stock Performance

MDIV stock opened at $16.60 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $424.13 million, a P/E ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $16.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.60. First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund has a 12 month low of $15.52 and a 12 month high of $17.02.

First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a $0.115 dividend. This is an increase from First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund's previous monthly dividend of $0.07. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st.

Institutional Trading of First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund in the 1st quarter valued at $174,000. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund during the 1st quarter worth $196,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund during the 2nd quarter worth $192,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund by 147.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,538,244 shares of the company's stock worth $24,348,000 after purchasing an additional 915,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 582,651 shares of the company's stock worth $9,159,000 after purchasing an additional 17,582 shares in the last quarter.

About First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund

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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