John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $39.86 and last traded at $39.6350, with a volume of 11077 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.42.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $37.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.60.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 667,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,405,000 after buying an additional 23,822 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 5.3% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 558,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,793,000 after acquiring an additional 28,231 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 3.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 267,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,606,000 after acquiring an additional 8,443 shares during the period. FCA Corp TX grew its position in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 2.4% during the first quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 88,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 86,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,043,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.55% of the company’s stock.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Company Profile

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE: BTO) is a closed-end management investment company sponsored by John Hancock Investment Management, a division of Manulife Investment Management. Since its inception in August 2004, the fund has sought to deliver total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation. As a publicly traded fund, it offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of financial services companies that might otherwise require direct equity investments or specialized mandates.

The fund primarily invests in common stocks, preferred stocks and convertible securities issued by companies in the banking, insurance, brokerage and specialty finance sectors.