Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (NYSE:USA) Reaches New 12-Month High on Insider Buying Activity

Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (NYSE:USA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $7.09 and last traded at $7.08, with a volume of 252741 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $7.04.

Specifically, insider Edmund J. Burke purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $7.09 per share, with a total value of $28,360.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,085. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Liberty All-Star Equity Fund Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $6.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.33.

Liberty All-Star Equity Fund Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 19th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.54%. This is a positive change from Liberty All-Star Equity Fund’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 18th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Liberty All-Star Equity Fund during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,970,000. Shaker Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Liberty All-Star Equity Fund by 149.1% in the 4th quarter. Shaker Financial Services LLC now owns 659,722 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $4,226,000 after purchasing an additional 394,909 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty All-Star Equity Fund in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,302,000. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty All-Star Equity Fund during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,321,000. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Liberty All-Star Equity Fund by 641.7% during the 4th quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 195,071 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after buying an additional 168,771 shares during the period. 9.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Liberty All-Star Equity Fund

Liberty All Star Equity Fund is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by ALPS Advisers, Inc The fund is co-managed by Aristotle Capital Management, LLC, Pzena Investment Management, LLC, Delaware Investments Fund Advisers, Sustainable Growth Advisers, LP, and TCW Investment Management Company.