Equity

BME

Health Sciences Trust

  • NAV as of Feb 20, 2026 $43.74
    52 WK: 37.85 - 45.28
  • Morningstar Rating
  • NAV Total Return as of: Jan 31, 2026 YTD: 0.14
  • Distribution Rate as of Feb 19, 2026 7.49%
  • Market Price as of Feb 20, 2026 $41.81
  • Market Price Total Return as of: Jan 31, 2026 YTD: 2.43
  • Premium Discount as of Feb 20, 2026 -4.41%

Overview

Investment Approach

BlackRock Health Sciences Trust’s (BME) (the 'Trust') investment objectives are to provide total return and income primarily through long-term capital appreciation. The Trust seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of companies engaged in the health sciences and related industries and equity derivatives with exposure to the health sciences industry.

No assurance can be given that the Trust’s investment objective will be achieved.

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Performance

Performance

Distributions

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Ex-Date Payable Date Record Date Total Distribution Income ST Cap Gains Return of Capital LT Cap Gains
Record Date Ex-Date Payable Date Total Distribution Income ST Cap Gains LT Cap Gains Return of Capital

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Year Total Distribution Income ST Cap Gains LT Cap Gains

Past distributions are not indicative of future distributions.


If a Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its income and net realized capital gains in the current fiscal year; a portion of its distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of a shareholder's investment is paid back to the shareholder. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect a Fund's investment performance and should not be confused with 'yield' or 'income'. When distributions exceed total return performance, the difference will reduce the Fund's net asset value per share. Although the character of income will not be determined until the end of the fund’s fiscal year, please refer to the 'Closed-End Fund Resources' section of the BlackRock website for Section 19 notices that provide estimated amounts and sources of the fund's distributions, which should not be not be relied upon for tax reporting purposes. A Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year will be sent to shareholders to illustrate how the Fund’s distributions should be reported for federal income tax purposes.

  1y 3y 5y 10y
NAV Total Return (%) 15.82 7.76 5.82 8.99
Market Price Total Return (%) 17.67 5.16 3.56 7.36
  YTD 1m 3m 1y 3y 5y 10y
NAV Total Return (%) 15.82 -1.97 - 15.82 25.13 32.70 136.53
Market Price Total Return (%) 17.67 -0.33 - 17.67 16.29 19.10 103.38
  2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
NAV Total Return (%) 10.66 -4.19 3.80 4.09 15.82
Market Price Total Return (%) 7.37 -4.64 -1.08 -0.09 17.67

Performance is shown after deduction of ongoing charges. Any entry and exit charges are excluded from the calculation.

The performance quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed or sold, may be worth more or less than the original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. Performance data current to the most recent month end may be found in the Performance section.

Returns are shown net of advisory fees paid by the fund and net of the fund’s operating fees and expenses. Numbers may reflect small variances due to rounding. Investors who purchase shares of the fund through an investment adviser or other financial professional may separately pay a fee to that service provider. The fund’s market price and net asset value will fluctuate with market conditions. All return data assumes reinvestment of all distributions. The return of your investment may increase or decrease as a result of currency fluctuations if your investment is made in a currency other than that used in the past

Key Facts

Key Facts

Net Assets
as of Feb 20, 2026
$565,247,569
Fund Launch Date
Mar 31, 2005
Asset Class
Equity
Morningstar Category
Health
Premium Discount
as of Feb 20, 2026
-4.41%
Number of Holdings
as of Jan 30, 2026
163
Managed Assets
-
Exchange
NYSE
Shares Outstanding
as of Feb 20, 2026
12,924,103
Lipper Classification
Sector Equity Funds
CUSIP
09250W107

Portfolio Characteristics

Portfolio Characteristics

Distribution Rate
as of Feb 19, 2026
7.49%
Average Market Cap (Millions)
as of -
-
This information must be preceded or accompanied by an effective prospectus or shareholder report. For standardized performance, please see the Performance section above.

Fees

Fees

On Net Assets
Gross Expense Ratio 1.11%
Management Fee 1.00%
Interest Expense 0.00%
Other Expenses 0.10%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses 0.01%
On Managed Assets
Gross Expense 1.11%
Management Fee 1.00%
Interest Expenses 0.00%
Other Expenses 0.10%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses 0.01%

Fees data reflected above is current as of the latest annual shareholder report.

Ratings

Ratings

Morningstar Rating

4 stars
Overall Morningstar Rating for Health Sciences Trust, as of Jan 31, 2026 rated against 7 Health Funds based on risk adjusted total return.

Holdings

Holdings

as of Jan 30, 2026
Name Weight (%)
ELI LILLY AND COMPANY 10.77
JOHNSON & JOHNSON 9.40
ABBVIE INC 3.97
GILEAD SCIENCES INC 3.77
UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC 3.16
Name Weight (%)
AMGEN INC 3.13
MERCK & CO INC 3.03
THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC 3.00
MEDTRONIC PLC 2.93
INTUITIVE SURGICAL INC 2.45
Holdings are subject to change. Fund holdings and allocations shown are unaudited, and may not be representative of current or future investments. The Fund is actively managed and its details, holdings and characteristics will vary. Holdings shown should not be deemed as a recommendation to buy or sell securities. The user relies on this data at its own risk and neither BlackRock nor any other party makes any representations or express or implied warranties (which are expressly disclaimed) nor shall they incur any liability for any errors or omissions in the data.

Exposure Breakdowns

Exposure Breakdowns

as of Jan 30, 2026

% of Market Value

Type Fund
as of Jan 30, 2026

% of Market Value

Type Fund
as of Jan 30, 2026

% of Market Value

Type Fund
as of Jan 30, 2026

% of Market Value

Type Fund
as of Jan 30, 2026

% of Market Value

Type Fund
Negative weightings may result from specific circumstances (including timing differences between trade and settle dates of securities purchased by the funds) and/or the use of certain financial instruments, including derivatives, which may be used to gain or reduce market exposure and/or risk management.

Allocations are subject to change.

Portfolio Managers

Portfolio Managers

Erin Xie, PhD
Erin Xie, PhD
Head of the Fundamental Equities Health Sciences Team, Portfolio Manager, Managing Director
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Erin Xie, PhD, Managing Director, is head of the Health Sciences team within BlackRock Fundamental Equities and lead portfolio manager for the Health Sciences equity portfolios.


Ms. Xie's service with the firm dates back to 2001, including her years with State Street Research & Management (SSRM), which merged with BlackRock in 2005. At SSRM, she was a Senior Vice President and portfolio manager responsible for managing the State Street Health Sciences Fund. Prior to joining State Street Research in 2001, Ms. Xie was a research associate with Sanford Bernstein covering the pharmaceutical industry. From 1994 until 1997, she was a post-doctoral research scientist at Columbia University.

Ms. Xie earned a BS degree in chemistry from Beijing University, a PhD degree in Biochemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an MBA degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management.

Xiang Liu
Xiang Liu
BlackRock Health Sciences Team
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Xiang Liu, PhD, Director, is a member of the Health Sciences team, part of Blackrock's Active Equity Group. He is a co-portfolio manager for the Health Sciences equity portfolios and is responsible for coverage of the medical devices sector.

 

Prior to joining BlackRock in 2008, Mr. Liu was a partner and biotech analyst at Mehta Partners. From 2002 to 2005, he was a Director in the corporate development department at Cubist Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Liu began his investment career in 2000 at the Boston Consulting Group as a health care consultant.

 

Mr. Liu earned a BS degree in Chemistry from the University of Science & Technology, China in 1993, a PhD degree in Chemistry from Yale University in 1997, and a MBA degree in finance, strategy, and accounting from the University of Chicago in 2000.

Portfolio Manager

ESG Integration

ESG Integration

BlackRock considers many investment risks in our processes. In order to seek the best risk-adjusted returns for our clients, we manage material risks and opportunities that could impact portfolios, including financially material Environmental, Social and/or Governance (ESG) data or information, where available. See our Firm Wide ESG Integration Statement for more information on this approach and fund documentation for how these material risks are considered within this product, where applicable.

This fund does not seek to follow a sustainable, impact or ESG investment strategy. For more information regarding the fund's investment strategy, please see the fund's prospectus or, as applicable, shareholder report.

Literature

Literature