First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF (NYSEARCA:FPEI) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF (NYSEARCA:FPEI) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 1,364,349 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 220% from the previous session’s volume of 426,394 shares.The stock last traded at $19.02 and had previously closed at $19.10.

First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $19.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.40.

First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.0855 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 18,537,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,976,898 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 9,002,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,562,000 after purchasing an additional 175,526 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,023,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,415,000 after purchasing an additional 249,812 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,544,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,900,000 after purchasing an additional 200,889 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 4,355,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,453,000 after purchasing an additional 85,475 shares during the period.

About First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF

The First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF (FPEI) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in broad credit fixed income. The fund is actively managed to provide current income and total return by investing in global institutional preferred and income-producing debt securities. FPEI was launched on Aug 22, 2017 and is managed by First Trust.