John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund (NYSE:PDT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund (NYSE:PDT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 23,651 shares, a growth of 142.3% from the April 30th total of 9,762 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 118,207 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.2 days. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund by 43.2% in the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,864 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 889 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 229,043 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,909,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its position in John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 57,863 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $735,000 after acquiring an additional 1,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, &PARTNERS grew its holdings in John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 48,708 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $619,000 after acquiring an additional 1,852 shares during the last quarter. 12.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of PDT traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 136,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 121,205. John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund has a one year low of $12.53 and a one year high of $13.65. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.02.

John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.0825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 7.7%.

About John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund

The John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund (NYSE:PDT) is a publicly traded, closed-end management investment company designed to deliver high current income and potential capital growth. The fund’s core strategy centers on dividend-paying and income-producing securities, combining equity and fixed-income instruments to achieve a balanced risk-return profile.

Managed by John Hancock Investment Management (US) LLC, a subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation, the fund primarily allocates assets to dividend-paying common stocks and preferred stocks of U.S.