Royce Small-Cap Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RVT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Royce Small-Cap Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RVT) was the target of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 94,208 shares, an increase of 217.5% from the August 15th total of 29,674 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 171,927 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.5 days.

Institutional Trading of Royce Small-Cap Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Royce Small-Cap Trust in the 2nd quarter worth about $111,827,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Royce Small-Cap Trust by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,252,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,665,000 after acquiring an additional 519,959 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Royce Small-Cap Trust by 6.7% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,174,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,776,000 after acquiring an additional 198,905 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Royce Small-Cap Trust by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 2,257,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,338,000 after acquiring an additional 194,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Altium Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Royce Small-Cap Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $3,099,000. Institutional investors own 25.57% of the company’s stock.

Royce Small-Cap Trust Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of RVT stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.75. 176,260 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 165,022. Royce Small-Cap Trust has a 1 year low of $14.97 and a 1 year high of $19.12. The company’s 50 day moving average is $18.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.02.

Royce Small-Cap Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This is a positive change from Royce Small-Cap Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.4%.

Royce Small-Cap Trust Company Profile

Royce Small-Cap Trust (NYSE: RVT) is a diversified, closed-end investment fund focused on long-term capital growth through investments in small-cap companies. The fund primarily invests in equity securities of U.S. small-cap businesses across a range of industries and sectors.

RVT is managed by Royce Investment Partners, an investment management firm specializing in small-cap and mid-cap equities. The portfolio generally emphasizes companies that the manager believes have attractive business characteristics, growth potential, financial strength, or favorable valuations.