ETFs

First Horizon Advisors Inc. Trims Position in ESG-Focused ETF

Published January 13, 2024

First Horizon Advisors Inc. has scaled back its investment in the iShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF (NASDAQ:ESGD), as revealed in a recent Securities & Exchange Commission filing. During the third quarter, the firm decreased its holdings in the ETF by 18.8%, resulting in a new total of 5,752 shares after the sale of 1,334 shares. At the close of the quarter, First Horizon Advisors Inc.'s stake in the ETF was valued at approximately $398,000.

Investment Changes Among Other Firms

Other notable investors have also adjusted their positions in iShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF. Tarbox Family Office Inc., for example, increased its holdings by 2.2% in the second quarter, reaching 6,319 shares valued at $461,000. Similarly, HF Advisory Group LLC and Quent Capital LLC expanded their investments. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC and Foster Group Inc. both augmented their ETF shares modestly in the second quarter and the third quarter, respectively.

Recent ETF Performance

The ETF, which trades under the ticker ESGD, saw its share price at $75.31 on the last trading day reported. With a market capitalization of $7.61 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51, the fund has demonstrated stability with a beta of 0.86. Over the past year, ESGD has fluctuated between a low of $65.74 and a high of $75.87, while the 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages stand at $73.16 and $71.71 respectively.

Dividend Payout Adjustments

A recent Semi-Annual dividend was also declared by the ETF and paid out on December 27th to all recorded stockholders on December 21st, amounting to $0.918 per share. The stated ex-dividend date was December 20th.

About the ETF

The iShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF (ESGD) tracks an index of international companies from developed markets. These companies are selected based on their commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles. The ETF was inaugurated on June 28, 2016, and is professionally managed by BlackRock.

Investment, Reduction, ESG