Essex Financial Services Inc. Decreases Holdings in Sprott Focus Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ:FUND)

Essex Financial Services Inc. decreased its holdings in Sprott Focus Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ:FUND) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 234,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,403 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Sprott Focus Trust were worth $1,717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in Sprott Focus Trust by 3.4% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 92,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $712,000 after buying an additional 3,028 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sprott Focus Trust by 1.0% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 329,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,538,000 after buying an additional 3,301 shares during the period. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sprott Focus Trust by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 81,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $597,000 after acquiring an additional 2,345 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Sprott Focus Trust

In other news, Portfolio Manager W Whitney George acquired 106,939 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $7.27 per share, with a total value of $777,446.53. Following the completion of the purchase, the portfolio manager now owns 7,813,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,800,968.01. The trade was a 1.39 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 50.59% of the company’s stock.

Sprott Focus Trust Stock Performance

Shares of FUND stock opened at $7.73 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $7.59 and a 200 day moving average of $7.73. Sprott Focus Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.21 and a 1-year high of $8.23.

Sprott Focus Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a — dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.2161 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th.

Sprott Focus Trust Profile

Sprott Focus Trust, Inc is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Sprott Asset Management, LP. The fund is co-managed by Sprott Asset Management USA Inc It invests in the public equity markets of the United States. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors.