BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust (NYSE:BMEZ) Short Interest Up 50.4% in September

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Saba Capital Management, L.P. bought 2,006 shares of BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of 15.98 per share, with a total value of 32,055.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,603,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately 329,245,112.52. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 44,909 shares of company stock valued at $718,686.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chapin Davis Inc. grew its position in BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust by 33.2% in the first quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 22,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 76,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,124,000 after acquiring an additional 1,536 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust by 71.2% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 19,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 8,256 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 142,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,328,000 after buying an additional 5,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust by 31.1% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 15,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 3,671 shares during the period.

BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE BMEZ opened at 15.76 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is 15.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is 15.53. BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust has a 12 month low of 12.93 and a 12 month high of 16.59.

BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.176 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.40%.

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.