First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund (NYSEARCA:FDL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund (NYSEARCA:FDL) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 499,726 shares, a growth of 30.3% from the February 26th total of 383,551 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,568,099 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.3 days.

Institutional Trading of First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC increased its position in First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 22,451 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $975,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund by 2.8% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 489,302 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $21,241,000 after buying an additional 13,542 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC boosted its position in First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund by 8.9% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 11,289 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in shares of First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund by 102.1% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 10,212 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 5,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. bought a new stake in shares of First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund during the third quarter worth $130,000.

First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund Trading Up 0.8%

NYSEARCA FDL traded up $0.38 on Tuesday, hitting $50.96. 651,410 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,239,584. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $49.63 and a 200-day moving average of $45.86. First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund has a 52 week low of $37.29 and a 52 week high of $51.46. The stock has a market cap of $7.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 0.73.

First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.4005 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 26th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%.

First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund Company Profile

First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund, seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield of an equity index called the Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index (the Index). The Fund will invest at least 90% of its net assets plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes in common stocks that comprise the Index. The objective of the Index is to offer investors a benchmark for dividend portfolios, as well as a means to invest in a portfolio of stocks that have a consistent record of growing dividends, as well as the ability to sustain them.