MFS High Yield Municipal Trust (NYSE:CMU) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

MFS High Yield Municipal Trust (NYSE:CMU) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,700 shares, a growth of 93.4% from the June 30th total of 7,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 49,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFS High Yield Municipal Trust

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CMU. City of London Investment Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of MFS High Yield Municipal Trust by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. City of London Investment Management Co. Ltd. now owns 986,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,264,000 after acquiring an additional 277,145 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of MFS High Yield Municipal Trust by 65.0% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 487,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,671,000 after acquiring an additional 192,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of MFS High Yield Municipal Trust in the second quarter valued at about $356,000. Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MFS High Yield Municipal Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $91,000. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MFS High Yield Municipal Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $72,000. 32.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MFS High Yield Municipal Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:CMU traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3.50. 41,901 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,252. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $3.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.33. MFS High Yield Municipal Trust has a one year low of $2.78 and a one year high of $3.53.

MFS High Yield Municipal Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 16th will be given a $0.0145 dividend. This represents a $0.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.98%. This is an increase from MFS High Yield Municipal Trust’s previous monthly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 16th.

About MFS High Yield Municipal Trust

MFS High Yield Municipal Trust is a close ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by Massachusetts Financial Services Company. The fund invests in fixed income markets of the United States. It primarily invests in tax-exempt bonds and tax-exempt notes. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against Barclays Municipal Bond Index.