BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust (NYSE:BMEZ) Short Interest Up 926.4% in December

BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust (NYSE:BMEZ) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 124,200 shares, an increase of 926.4% from the November 30th total of 12,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 297,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.4 days.

BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust Price Performance

Shares of BMEZ opened at $14.81 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.60. BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust has a 1-year low of $14.38 and a 1-year high of $16.59.

BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.1781 per share. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Saba Capital Management, L.P. purchased 29,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.81 per share, with a total value of $471,058.95. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 20,750,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,071,934.53. This represents a 0.14 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 53,088 shares of company stock valued at $840,479.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMEZ. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust by 66.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 399,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,143,000 after buying an additional 159,401 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust by 11.2% during the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 65,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 6,565 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its stake in BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust by 1,569.0% during the second quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 190,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,931,000 after purchasing an additional 179,405 shares during the period. Shaker Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $184,000. Finally, Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust by 37.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 164,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,520,000 after buying an additional 44,866 shares during the period.

About BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust

BlackRock Health Sciences Trust II’s (BMEZ) (the ‘Trust’) investment objective is to provide total return and income through a combination of current income, current gains and long-term capital appreciation. The Trust seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its total assets in equity securities of companies principally engaged in the health sciences group of industries and equity derivatives with exposure to the health sciences group of industries.