NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Certain BlackRock closed-end funds (the “Funds”) announced distributions today as detailed below.
Several of the Funds announced dividend increases. These dividend increases take into account each Fund’s earnings potential in light of the current market environment and the Fund’s leverage and asset levels. In addition, BlackRock International Growth and Income Trust (NYSE:BGY) announced a dividend reduction. This dividend reduction takes into account the Fund’s relatively high previous distribution level, the current level of the Fund’s net assets and current and projected levels of dividend income, option premiums and volatility in the market.
Municipal Funds:
| Declaration- 3/1/2012 |
Ex-Date- 3/13/2012 |
Record- 3/15/2012 |
Payable- 4/2/2012 |
| Change From | ||||||||||||
| National Funds | Ticker | Dividend | Prior | |||||||||
| Dividend | ||||||||||||
| BlackRock Municipal Income Quality Trust | BYM | $0.078000 | $0.001000 | |||||||||
| BlackRock Municipal Income Investment Quality Trust | BAF | $0.074500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Investment Quality Municipal Income Trust | RFA | $0.070000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Long-Term Municipal Advantage Trust | BTA | $0.066000 | $0.001500 | |||||||||
| BlackRock Muni Intermediate Duration Fund, Inc. | MUI | $0.071500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniAssets Fund, Inc. | MUA | $0.062500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Municipal 2020 Term Trust | BKK | $0.062250 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Municipal Bond Trust | BBK | $0.088500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Municipal Bond Investment Trust | BIE | $0.081000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Municipal Income Trust | BFK | $0.080100 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Municipal Income Trust II | BLE | $0.085000 | $0.001500 | |||||||||
| BlackRock Municipal Income Investment Trust | BBF | $0.075375 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Municipal 2018 Term Trust | BPK | $0.078000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniEnhanced Fund, Inc. | MEN | $0.058000 | $0.001000 | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniHoldings Fund II, Inc. | MUH | $0.083000 | $0.001500 | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniHoldings Fund, Inc. | MHD | $0.091500 | $0.001000 | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniHoldings Quality Fund II, Inc. | MUE | $0.073500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniHoldings Quality Fund, Inc. | MUS | $0.074000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniHoldings Investment Quality Fund | MFL | $0.076500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniVest Fund II, Inc. | MVT | $0.091000 | $0.002500 | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniVest Fund, Inc. | MVF | $0.059000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniYield Fund, Inc. | MYD | $0.083500 | $0.001000 | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniYield Quality Fund III, Inc. | MYI | $0.072000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniYield Investment Quality Fund | MFT | $0.071000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniYield Investment Fund | MYF | $0.079000 | $0.001500 | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniYield Quality Fund II, Inc. | MQT | $0.069500 | $0.001500 | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniYield Quality Fund, Inc. | MQY | $0.080000 | $0.003000 | |||||||||
| The BlackRock Investment Quality Municipal Trust, Inc. | BKN | $0.084000 | - | |||||||||
| The BlackRock Strategic Municipal Trust | BSD | $0.074000 | - |
| Change From | ||||||||||||
| State-Specific Funds | Ticker | Dividend | Prior | |||||||||
| Dividend | ||||||||||||
| BlackRock California Municipal Income Trust | BFZ | $0.077700 | $0.002000 | |||||||||
| BlackRock California Municipal 2018 Term Trust | BJZ | $0.072000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniHoldings California Quality Fund, Inc. | MUC | $0.079000 | $0.002500 | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniYield California Fund, Inc. | MYC | $0.079000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniYield California Quality Fund, Inc. | MCA | $0.076000 | $0.002500 | |||||||||
| BlackRock Florida Municipal 2020 Term Trust, Inc. | BFO | $0.056000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Maryland Municipal Bond Trust | BZM | $0.079000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Muni New York Intermediate Duration Fund, Inc. | MNE | $0.062500 | $0.001500 | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniHoldings New York Quality Fund, Inc. | MHN | $0.079500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniYield New York Quality Fund, Inc. | MYN | $0.071000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock New York Municipal 2018 Term Trust, Inc. | BLH | $0.082000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock New York Municipal Income Quality Trust | BSE | $0.071500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock New York Municipal Bond Trust | BQH | $0.082000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock New York Municipal Income Trust | BNY | $0.082500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock New York Municipal Income Trust II | BFY | $0.083500 | - | |||||||||
| The BlackRock New York Investment Quality Municipal Trust, Inc. | RNY | $0.073000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniHoldings New Jersey Quality Fund, Inc. | MUJ | $0.074000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniYield New Jersey Fund, Inc. | MYJ | $0.074000 | $0.001500 | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniYield New Jersey Quality Fund, Inc. | MJI | $0.072000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock New Jersey Municipal Bond Trust | BLJ | $0.078000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock New Jersey Municipal Income Trust | BNJ | $0.079100 | - | |||||||||
| The BlackRock New Jersey Investment Quality Municipal Trust | RNJ | $0.065500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniYield Arizona Fund, Inc. | MZA | $0.069500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund II, Inc. | MYM | $0.071500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund, Inc. | MIY | $0.076500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock MuniYield Pennsylvania Quality Fund | MPA | $0.076500 | - | |||||||||
| The BlackRock Pennsylvania Strategic Municipal Trust | BPS | $0.076000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Virginia Municipal Bond Trust | BHV | $0.083000 | - | |||||||||
| Massachusetts Health & Education Tax-Exempt Trust | MHE | $0.070000 | - |
Taxable Municipal Fund:
| Declaration- 3/1/2012 |
Ex-Date- 3/13/2012 |
Record- 3/15/2012 |
Payable- 3/30/2012 |
| Change From | ||||||||||||
| Fund | Ticker | Dividend | Prior | |||||||||
| Dividend | ||||||||||||
| BlackRock Build America Bond Trust | BBN | $0.131800 | $0.002000 | |||||||||
Taxable Funds:
| Declaration- 3/1/2012 |
Ex-Date- 3/13/2012 |
Record- 3/15/2012 |
Payable- 3/30/2012 |
| Change From | ||||||||||||
| Fund | Ticker | Dividend | Prior | |||||||||
| Dividend | ||||||||||||
| BlackRock Senior High Income Fund, Inc. | ARK | $0.025000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Floating Rate Income Trust | BGT | $0.077500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Strategic Bond Trust | BHD | $0.084500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Core Bond Trust | BHK | $0.067000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Defined Opportunity Credit Trust | BHL | $0.066000 | - | |||||||||
| The BlackRock High Yield Trust | BHY | $0.043500 | - | |||||||||
| The BlackRock Income Trust, Inc. | BKT | $0.040500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust | BLW | $0.105000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Income Opportunity Trust, Inc. | BNA | $0.053000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust III | BPP | $0.063500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust IV | BTZ | $0.078500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Corporate High Yield Fund, Inc. | COY | $0.051000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Corporate High Yield Fund III, Inc. | CYE | $0.051000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Debt Strategies Fund, Inc. | DSU | $0.027000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Diversified Income Strategies Fund, Inc. | DVF | $0.058500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Enhanced Government Fund, Inc. | EGF | $0.070000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Floating Rate Income Strategies Fund, Inc. | FRA | $0.077000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Floating Rate Income Strategies Fund II, Inc. | FRB | $0.073000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock High Income Shares | HIS | $0.014200 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Corporate High Yield Fund VI, Inc. | HYT | $0.083500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Corporate High Yield Fund V, Inc. | HYV | $0.086000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust I, Inc. | PSW | $0.059500 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust II, Inc. | PSY | $0.061000 | - | |||||||||
Equity Funds:
| Declaration- 3/1/2012 |
Ex-Date- 3/13/2012 |
Record- 3/15/2012 |
Payable- 3/30/2012 |
| Change From | ||||||||||||
| Fund | Ticker | Dividend | Prior | |||||||||
| Dividend | ||||||||||||
| BlackRock Real Asset Equity Trust* | BCF | $0.271800 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Enhanced Equity Dividend Trust* | BDJ | $0.170000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Energy and Resources Trust* | BGR | $0.405000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock International Growth and Income Trust* | BGY | $0.220000 | -$0.120000 | |||||||||
| BlackRock Health Sciences Trust* | BME | $0.384375 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock EcoSolutions Investment Trust* | BQR | $0.235000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Enhanced Capital and Income Fund, Inc.* | CII | $0.360000 | - | |||||||||
| BlackRock Resources & Commodities Strategy Trust* | BCX | $0.350000 | - |
* In order to comply with the requirements of Section 19 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, each of the Funds noted above posted to the DTC bulletin board and sent to their shareholders as of the applicable record date a Section 19 notice with the previous dividend payment. The Section 19 notice was provided not for tax reporting purposes but for informational purposes only. This information can be found in the “Closed-End Funds” section of www.blackrock.com. If applicable, the final determination of the source and tax characteristics of all distributions in 2012 will be made after the end of the year.
The BlackRock Enhanced Government Fund, Inc. (NYSE:EGF), BlackRock Real Asset Equity Trust (NYSE:BCF), BlackRock Resources & Commodities Strategy Trust (NYSE:BCX), BlackRock Enhanced Equity Dividend Trust (NYSE:BDJ), BlackRock Energy and Resources Trust (NYSE:BGR), BlackRock International Growth and Income Trust (NYSE:BGY), BlackRock Health Sciences Trust (NYSE:BME), BlackRock EcoSolutions Investment Trust (NYSE:BQR) and BlackRock Enhanced Capital and Income Fund, Inc. (NYSE:CII) (collectively, the “Trusts”) have adopted a level distribution plan (the “Plan”) and employ either a managed distribution or an option over-write policy to support a level distribution of income, capital gains and/or return of capital. The fixed amounts distributed per share are subject to change at the discretion of each Trust’s Board. Under its Plan, each Trust will distribute all available investment income to its shareholders, consistent with its primary investment objectives and as required by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. If sufficient investment income is not available on a quarterly/monthly basis, the Trusts will distribute long-term capital gains and or return capital to their shareholders in order to maintain a level distribution.
The Trusts’ estimated sources of the distributions paid currently and for their current fiscal year through December 30, 2011 and February 29, 2012 are as follows:
| Estimated Allocations as of February 29, 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Trust | Distribution | Net Investment Income | Net Realized Short-Term Gains | Net Realized Long-Term Gains | Return of Capital | |||||||||||||||
| EGF | $ 0.070000 | $0.070000 (100%) | $0 (0%) | $0 (0%) | $0 (0%) | |||||||||||||||
| Estimated Allocations as of December 30, 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Trust | Distribution | Net Investment Income | Net Realized Short-Term Gains | Net Realized Long-Term Gains | Return of Capital | |||||||||||||||
| BCF1 | $0.271800 | $0.022108 (8%) | $0.135224 (50%) | $0.024893 (9%) | $0.089575 (33%) | |||||||||||||||
| BCX1 | $0.350000 | $0.026064 (7%) | $0 (0%) | $0 (0%) | $0.323936 (93%) | |||||||||||||||
| BDJ1 | $0.170000 | $0.043753 (26%) | $0 (0%) | $0 (0%) | $0.126247 (74%) | |||||||||||||||
| BGR1 | $0.553000 | $0.021416 (4%) | $0.148000 (27%) | $0 (0%) | $0.383584 (69%) | |||||||||||||||
| BGY1 | $0.340000 | $0.028827 (8%) | $0 (0%) | $0 (0%) | $0.311173 (92%) | |||||||||||||||
| BME | $1.347375 | $0.009705 (1%) | $0.963000 (71%) | $0.374670 (28%) | $0 (0%) | |||||||||||||||
| BQR1 | $0.235000 | $0.016853 (7%) | $0 (0%) | $0 (0%) | $0.218147 (93%) | |||||||||||||||
| CII1 | $0.360000 | $0.073142 (20%) | $0 (0%) | $0 (0%) | $0.286858 (80%) | |||||||||||||||
| Estimated Allocations for the fiscal year through February 29, 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Trust | Distribution | Net Investment Income | Net Realized Short-Term Gains | Net Realized Long-Term Gains | Return of Capital | |||||||||||||||
| EGF | $ 0.070000 | $0.070000 (100%) | $0 (0%) | $0 (0%) | $0 (0%) | |||||||||||||||
| Estimated Allocations for the fiscal year through December 30, 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Trust | Distribution | Net Investment Income | Net Realized Short-Term Gains | Net Realized Long-Term Gains | Return of Capital | |||||||||||||||
| BCF1 | $0.271800 | $0.022108 (8%) | $0.135224 (50%) | $0.024893 (9%) | $0.089575 (33%) | |||||||||||||||
| BCX1 | $0.350000 | $0.026064 (7%) | $0 (0%) | $0 (0%) | $0.323936 (93%) | |||||||||||||||
| BDJ1 | $0.170000 | $0.043753 (26%) | $0 (0%) | $0 (0%) | $0.126247 (74%) | |||||||||||||||
| BGR1 | $0.553000 | $0.021416 (4%) | $0.148000 (27%) | $0 (0%) | $0.383584 (69%) | |||||||||||||||
| BGY1 | $0.340000 | $0.028827 (8%) | $0 (0%) | $0 (0%) | $0.311173 (92%) | |||||||||||||||
|
BME |
$1.347375 | $0.009705 (1%) | $0.963000 (71%) | $0.374670 (28%) | $0 (0%) | |||||||||||||||
| BQR1 | $0.235000 | $0.016853 (7%) | $0 (0%) | $0 (0%) | $0.218147 (93%) | |||||||||||||||
| CII1 | $0.360000 | $0.073142 (20%) | $0 (0%) | $0 (0%) | $0.286858 (80%) | |||||||||||||||
1 The Trust estimates that it has distributed more than its income and net realized capital gains in the current fiscal year; therefore, a portion of your distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the shareholder’s investment is paid back to the shareholder. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Trust's investment performance and should not be confused with ‘yield’ or ‘income’.
The amounts and sources of distributions reported are only estimates and are not provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Trust’s investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. Each Trust in which you are invested will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.
|
Trust Performance and Distribution Rate Information: |
||||||||||||||||
| Trust |
Average annual total return (in relation to NAV) for the 5-year period ending on 01/31/2012 |
Annualized current distribution rate expressed as a percentage of NAV as of 01/31/2012 | Cumulative total return (in relation to NAV) for the fiscal year through 01/31/2012 | Cumulative fiscal year distributions as a percentage of NAV as of 01/31/2012 | ||||||||||||
| BCF | 4.82% | 8.67% | 3.19% | 2.17% | ||||||||||||
| BCX2 | (7.02)% | 8.36% | 2.02% | 2.09% | ||||||||||||
| BDJ | (0.78)% | 8.25% | 5.04% | 2.06% | ||||||||||||
| BGR | 6.58% | 5.85% | (0.10)% | 2.00% | ||||||||||||
| BGY2 | (2.74)% | 15.93% | 2.48% | 3.98% | ||||||||||||
| BME | 7.26% | 5.76% | 5.32% | 5.04% | ||||||||||||
| BQR2 | (4.76)% | 10.04% | 2.65% | 2.51% | ||||||||||||
| CII | 3.13% | 10.07% | 6.04% | 2.52% | ||||||||||||
| EGF | 4.82% | 5.16% | 0.12% | 0.43% | ||||||||||||
2 Portfolio launched within the past 5 years; this represents the average annual total return (in relation to NAV) from inception to January 31, 2012.
Shareholders should not draw any conclusions about a Trust’s investment performance from the amount of the Trust’s current distributions or from the terms of the Trust’s Plan
About BlackRock
BlackRock is a leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. At December 31, 2011, BlackRock’s AUM was $3.513 trillion. BlackRock offers products that span the risk spectrum to meet clients’ needs, including active, enhanced and index strategies across markets and asset classes. Products are offered in a variety of structures including separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares® (exchange-traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles. BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions®. Headquartered in New York City, as of December 31, 2011, the firm has approximately 10,100 employees in 27 countries and a major presence in key global markets, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East and Africa. For additional information, please visit BlackRock's website at www.blackrock.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release, and other statements that BlackRock or the Funds may make, may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, with respect to the Funds’ or BlackRock’s future financial or business performance, strategies or expectations. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as “trend,” “potential,” “opportunity,” “pipeline,” “believe,” “comfortable,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “current,” “intention,” “estimate,” “position,” “assume,” “outlook,” “continue,” “remain,” “maintain,” “sustain,” “seek,” “achieve,” and similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “may” or similar expressions.
BlackRock cautions that forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and BlackRock assumes no duty to and does not undertake to update forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements and future results could differ materially from historical performance.
With respect to each Fund, the following factors, among others, could cause actual events to differ materially from forward-looking statements or historical performance: (1) changes and volatility in political, economic or industry conditions, the interest rate environment, foreign exchange rates or financial and capital markets, which could result in changes in demand for the fund or in the fund’s net asset value; (2) the relative and absolute investment performance of the fund and its investments; (3) the impact of increased competition; (4) the unfavorable resolution of any legal proceedings; (5) the extent and timing of any distributions or share repurchases; (6) the impact, extent and timing of technological changes; (7) the impact of legislative and regulatory actions and reforms, including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and regulatory, supervisory or enforcement actions of government agencies relating to the fund or BlackRock, as applicable; (8) terrorist activities, international hostilities and natural disasters, which may adversely affect the general economy, domestic and local financial and capital markets, specific industries or BlackRock; (9) BlackRock’s ability to attract and retain highly talented professionals; (10) the impact of BlackRock electing to provide support to its products from time to time; and (11) the impact of problems at other financial institutions or the failure or negative performance of products at other financial institutions.
Annual and Semi-Annual Reports and other regulatory filings of the funds with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) are accessible on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and on BlackRock’s website at www.blackrock.com, and may discuss these or other factors that affect the funds. The information contained on BlackRock’s website is not a part of this press release.