Short Interest in First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (NASDAQ:QQEW) Declines By 47.5%

First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (NASDAQ:QQEW) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 62,600 shares, a drop of 47.5% from the February 28th total of 119,200 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 76,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.8 days.

Institutional Trading of First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in QQEW. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund during the fourth quarter worth about $1,223,000. Park National Corp OH boosted its stake in First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 3,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 2.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 3.6% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 20,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,572,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 12.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period.

First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund Price Performance

Shares of QQEW stock traded down $2.17 on Friday, reaching $121.69. 27,503 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 78,764. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $128.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.58 and a beta of 1.05. First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund has a one year low of $113.15 and a one year high of $136.19.

First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.1529 per share. This represents a $0.61 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. This is an increase from First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 27th.

First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund Company Profile

The First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (QQEW) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the NASDAQ-100 Equally Weighted index. The fund tracks an equal-weighted version of the NASDAQ 100. QQEW was launched on Apr 19, 2006 and is managed by First Trust.