John Hancock Income Securities Trust (NYSE:JHS) Short Interest Down 73.1% in May

John Hancock Income Securities Trust (NYSE:JHS) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 2,605 shares, a decline of 73.1% from the May 14th total of 9,672 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,640 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days.

Institutional Trading of John Hancock Income Securities Trust

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. 1607 Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. 1607 Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,294,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,110,000 after buying an additional 28,770 shares during the period. Riverbridge Partners LLC raised its position in shares of John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 200,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,197,000 after buying an additional 7,788 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its position in shares of John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 60.1% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 131,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,540,000 after buying an additional 49,377 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp raised its position in shares of John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 105,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after buying an additional 27,841 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 60,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 11,587 shares during the period.

John Hancock Income Securities Trust Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of JHS stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $10.88. 70,749 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,951. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $11.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.38. John Hancock Income Securities Trust has a 52-week low of $10.74 and a 52-week high of $12.09.

John Hancock Income Securities Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.1535 per share. This represents a $0.61 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. This is a boost from John Hancock Income Securities Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14.

About John Hancock Income Securities Trust

John Hancock Income Securities Trust (NYSE: JHS) is a diversified, closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide shareholders with high current income while preserving capital. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange since its launch in the late 1970s, the trust offers investors access to a broad portfolio of fixed-income securities under a professional management structure.

The fund’s primary investment activities include purchasing U.S. government and agency obligations, investment-grade corporate debt, mortgage- and asset-backed securities, preferred stocks, and selected foreign debt instruments.