Investors Purchase High Volume of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Put Options (NYSEARCA:EFA)

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSEARCA:EFA) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 102,320 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 37% compared to the typical daily volume of 74,609 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iShares MSCI EAFE ETF

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EFA. HMS Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC now owns 190,530 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $17,790,000 after buying an additional 19,371 shares during the period. Becker Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 801,714 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $74,856,000 after buying an additional 44,503 shares during the period. Aegis Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 132.6% in the 3rd quarter. Aegis Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,291 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $2,548,000 after buying an additional 15,559 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 424,296 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $39,616,000 after buying an additional 30,294 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Common Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF in the 4th quarter valued at $2,665,000. Institutional investors own 79.80% of the company’s stock.

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSEARCA:EFA traded down $1.67 during trading on Friday, reaching $101.79. The stock had a trading volume of 10,119,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,081,682. iShares MSCI EAFE ETF has a 52 week low of $85.68 and a 52 week high of $105.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.77.

About iShares MSCI EAFE ETF

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund (the Fund), is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund’s investment objective is to seek investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of its underlying index, MSCI EAFE Index (the Index). The Index has been developed by MSCI Inc as an equity benchmark for its international stock performance. The Index includes stocks from Europe, Australasia and the Far East. The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index.