iShares MSCI Japan ETF Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSEARCA:EWJ)

iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSEARCA:EWJ) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 32,229 put options on the company. This is an increase of 350% compared to the average volume of 7,169 put options.

Institutional Trading of iShares MSCI Japan ETF

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EWJ. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 98.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,048,553 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $426,300,000 after acquiring an additional 2,506,472 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,993,457 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $403,172,000 after purchasing an additional 13,894 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,671,796 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $215,721,000 after purchasing an additional 11,881 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,034,620 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $171,803,000 after purchasing an additional 203,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,798,753 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $145,231,000 after purchasing an additional 369,260 shares in the last quarter. 64.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

iShares MSCI Japan ETF Trading Down 1.6%

EWJ stock traded down $1.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $90.46. The company had a trading volume of 2,210,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,227,490. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50 day moving average of $92.87 and a 200 day moving average of $88.92. iShares MSCI Japan ETF has a fifty-two week low of $71.71 and a fifty-two week high of $97.52.

iShares MSCI Japan ETF Company Profile

iShares MSCI Japan ETF (the fund), formerly Ishares Msci Japan Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of publicly traded securities in the Japanese market, as measured by the MSCI Japan Index (the Index). The Index consists of stocks traded primarily on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index.