BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust (NYSE:BMEZ) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust (NYSE:BMEZ) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 170,300 shares, a growth of 50.4% from the August 31st total of 113,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 236,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust news, major shareholder Saba Capital Management, L.P. bought 27,148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of 15.93 per share, for a total transaction of 432,467.64. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 20,565,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately 327,609,673.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have acquired 44,909 shares of company stock worth $718,686 in the last three months.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust by 21.7% during the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust by 5,365.6% during the second quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 6,707 shares during the period. Shaker Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $184,000. Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust by 31.1% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 15,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 3,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 18,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares during the last quarter.

BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMEZ traded up 0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching 15.93. The company had a trading volume of 98,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 274,679. BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust has a twelve month low of 12.93 and a twelve month high of 16.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of 15.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of 15.54.

BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a $0.176 dividend. This represents a $2.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th.

BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust Company Profile

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.