First Merchants Corp Sells 450 Shares of iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF (NASDAQ:PFF)

First Merchants Corp reduced its position in shares of iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF (NASDAQ:PFF) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,648 shares of the company’s stock after selling 450 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF were worth $366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,453,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,314,000 after purchasing an additional 491,005 shares during the period. Hilton Capital Management LLC grew its stake in iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF by 19.9% in the third quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC now owns 1,444,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,009,000 after purchasing an additional 239,661 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF during the fourth quarter valued at $5,477,000. Ibex Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,755,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF by 7.7% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,465,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,695,000 after buying an additional 104,770 shares during the period. 4.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF Trading Up 0.3 %

PFF opened at $31.80 on Friday. iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF has a 12 month low of $30.56 and a 12 month high of $33.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.35. The firm has a market cap of $14.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.51.

iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.1755 per share. This is a positive change from iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF’s previous dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd.

About iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF

iShares U.S. Preferred Stock ETF (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results, which correspond to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (the Underlying Index). The Underlying Index measures the performance of a select group of preferred stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NYSE Arca, Inc (NYSE Arca), NYSE Amex, NASDAQ Global Select Market, NASDAQ Select Market or NASDAQ Capital Market.