Royce Small-Cap Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RVT) Short Interest Up 99.5% in July

Key Points

• Royce Small-Cap Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RVT) experienced a 99.5% increase in short interest for July, rising from 19,600 to 39,100 shares.
• In related developments, insider Charles M. Royce sold 21,735 shares of the company's stock, reducing his ownership by 20% to approximately 86,938 shares.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share, yielding about 7.5% annually, reflecting a significant payout to shareholders.

Royce Small-Cap Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RVT - ) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 39,100 shares, anincreaseof99.5% from the July 15th total of 19,600 shares. Approximately0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 272,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 272,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days. Approximately0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Royce Small-Cap Trust Price Performance

RVT stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $15.54. 178,552 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 343,837. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $15.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.84. Royce Small-Cap Trust has a 1 year low of $12.12 and a 1 year high of $16.93.

Royce Small-Cap Trust Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.5%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Charles M. Royce sold 21,735 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.96, for a total transaction of $325,155.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 86,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,300,592.48. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royce Small-Cap Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Royce Small-Cap Trust by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,293,535 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $94,718,000 after buying an additional 54,485 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in Royce Small-Cap Trust by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,174,507 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,776,000 after purchasing an additional 198,905 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Royce Small-Cap Trust by 52.3% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,919,691 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,336,000 after purchasing an additional 659,578 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Royce Small-Cap Trust by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,601,377 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $22,803,000 after purchasing an additional 47,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Royce Small-Cap Trust by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 823,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,005,000 after purchasing an additional 47,232 shares during the last quarter. 25.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Royce Small-Cap Trust

Royce Value Trust Inc is a close ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Royce & Associates, LLC. It invests in the public equity markets of the United States. The fund spreads its investments across diversified sectors. It invests in value oriented stocks of small cap and micro cap companies.

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