iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (NASDAQ:ESGU) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (NASDAQ:ESGU) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,649,477 shares, a decline of 13.2% from the February 26th total of 1,899,824 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 646,083 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESGU. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,260,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,167,000 after acquiring an additional 444,833 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF by 3.2% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,489,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,964,029,000 after purchasing an additional 421,048 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,288,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,532,804,000 after purchasing an additional 411,010 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF by 74.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 618,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,125,000 after purchasing an additional 263,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in shares of iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF in the third quarter worth $27,067,000.

iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF Trading Up 2.9%

iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF stock opened at $141.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a PE ratio of 25.34 and a beta of 1.03. iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has a 12 month low of $105.18 and a 12 month high of $152.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $147.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.68.

iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a $0.3698 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%.

iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF Company Profile

The iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Extended ESG Focus index. The fund tracks an index composed of US companies that are selected and weighted for positive environmental, social and governance characteristics. ESGU was launched on Dec 1, 2016 and is managed by BlackRock.