Investors Buy High Volume of iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF Put Options (NYSEARCA:IYR)

iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF (NYSEARCA:IYR) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 23,417 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 300% compared to the typical volume of 5,856 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,815 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF by 68.9% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 755 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,142 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $592,000. 98.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF Stock Up 0.7%

IYR traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $103.47. 2,474,323 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,956,635. iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF has a 1-year low of $92.45 and a 1-year high of $105.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $102.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.41 and a beta of 0.97.

iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF Company Profile

iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF, formerly iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index Fund (the Fund), is a non-diversified fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the real estate sector of the United States equity market, and includes companies in the industry groups, such as real estate holding and development and real estate investment trusts (REITs).