BME CEF — BlackRock Health Sciences Trust

BlackRock Health Sciences Trust (BME)

Updated November 12, 2026.

BME is a CEF. Its distribution rate is 6.60%, its trailing-12-month yield is 7.15%. Dividend Vision Distribution Safety Score™ is 100/100 (Safe). Total return is 971.3% over the past 21.6 years, 109.8 points ahead of SPY at 861.5%.

At the current 6.60% distribution rate, a $10,000 investment would generate approximately $660 per year, or $55.00 per month.

BlackRock Health Sciences Trust is a closed-end equity fund that invests in U.S. public companies involved in healthcare, including those developing, producing, or distributing medical devices, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology products, and related services; the fund also employs option writing strategies and benchmarks against the Russell 3000 Healthcare Index. It pays monthly distributions at a current high distribution rate. This structure appeals to income-focused investors seeking regular payouts from healthcare sector exposure.

BME performance versus SPY

As of Nov 12, 2026

Total return is 971.3% over the past 21.6 years, 109.8 points ahead of SPY at 861.5%. Over the past year its total return — price change plus distributions reinvested — is 27.1%. Its deepest 1-year drawdown was 11.0%.

BME key facts

Distribution Safety Score™

100 · Safe

Safety-Adjusted Yield

6.60%

Issuer

BlackRock

Asset type

CEF

Asset class

Equity

Inception date

03/29/2005

Distribution rate

6.60%

Distribution frequency

Monthly

Trailing yield

7.15%

5-year average yield

6.56

Last close

$47.62 (as of 2026-11-12)

NAV

$48.98 as of 2026-11-12; source issuer

Premium / discount

2.78% discount

Market cap

$621,003,136

Average volume

24,451

Dividend

$0.2621

Ex-dividend date

11/13/2026

Payment date

11/30/2026

Beta

0.595

Expense ratio and AUM unavailable in this published snapshot. Missing values do not mean zero or complete coverage. ?

How Dividend Vision calculates yield and returns

Distribution rate (6.60%) uses latest regular dividend ($0.2621) × 12 ÷ market price dated 2026-11-12; one-off specials excluded; identified recurring supplementals included. Issuer rates can use a different denominator and date, including ex-date NAV. Trailing-12-month yield (7.15%) is the sum of split-adjusted cash distributions with ex-dates in the last 12 months, divided by the published price. It lags a recent raise or cut. Total return uses split-adjusted close with distributions reinvested on the ex-dividend date (a modeling convention, not the cash-settlement date) from the first stored bar on or after inception through the latest bar, compared with the same window on the benchmark. That is the security's total return, not your personal gain/loss.

Yield and safety methodology · Distribution rate methodology · Distribution Safety Score methodology

Sources and review

Primary sources: BlackRock or company page; prices and distributions from Dividend Vision, derived from vendor EOD data.

Reviewed by Bert Sweet, CEO and Co-owner of Dividend Vision. Methodology: Distribution Safety Score.

BME risks and drawbacks

The deepest 1-year drawdown on record here is 11.0%.

Who may consider BME — and who may not

BME may suit someone looking for a high Distribution Safety Score. This is educational context, not a recommendation to buy or sell.

More on BME

• CEFs going ex-dividend this week
• BlackRock upcoming distributions
• All tickers starting with B

Tagged: CEF, Healthcare.

Frequently asked questions

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