John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund Renews Share Buyback Plan

John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund (NYSE: PDT) announced Wednesday that its Board of Trustees has renewed the Fund's share repurchase plan that is set to expire on December 31, 2014. The Board of Trustees approved the renewal of the share repurchase plan as part of its ongoing evaluation of options to enhance shareholder value and potentially decrease the discount between the market price and the net asset value ("NAV") of the Fund's common shares.  Pursuant to the share repurchase plan, the Fund may purchase in the open market, between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015, up to an additional 10% of its outstanding common shares (based on common shares outstanding as of December 31, 2014). The share repurchase plan allows the Fund to acquire its own shares in the open market at a discount to NAV, which is intended to potentially increase the NAV per share. It could also have the benefit of providing additional liquidity in the trading of common shares. The Fund has been repurchasing shares in 2014 to seek to enhance shareholder value, and year-to-date through November 30, 2014, the Fund has See full press release