Short Interest in First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund (NYSEARCA:FDL) Drops By 34.0%

First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund (NYSEARCA:FDL) saw a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 329,934 shares, a drop of 34.0% from the March 15th total of 499,726 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,290,093 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of FDL traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $49.48. 955,039 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,279,343. First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund has a twelve month low of $39.01 and a twelve month high of $51.46. The company has a market cap of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.38.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FDL. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,670,709 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $384,459,000 after purchasing an additional 778,170 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 5,197,530 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $230,458,000 after purchasing an additional 686,116 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund by 17.8% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,911,177 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $163,766,000 after purchasing an additional 590,206 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund by 35.2% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,492,128 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $62,481,000 after purchasing an additional 388,747 shares during the period. Finally, Perryman Financial Advisory Inc. AD bought a new position in shares of First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund in the fourth quarter worth $10,522,000.

About First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund

First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund, seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield of an equity index called the Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index (the Index). The Fund will invest at least 90% of its net assets plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes in common stocks that comprise the Index. The objective of the Index is to offer investors a benchmark for dividend portfolios, as well as a means to invest in a portfolio of stocks that have a consistent record of growing dividends, as well as the ability to sustain them.