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

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSEARCA:EFA) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 69,534 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 50% compared to the typical volume of 46,351 put options.

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Price Performance

Shares of EFA traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $105.77. 3,527,307 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,675,896. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.31. iShares MSCI EAFE ETF has a 52-week low of $91.21 and a 52-week high of $108.89.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 164,941 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $17,134,000 after buying an additional 1,844 shares during the period. Gemmer Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 53,756 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $5,584,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the period. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 5.9% in the second quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 8,619 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 1.3% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,700 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $800,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 2.1% during the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 82,912 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $8,613,000 after acquiring an additional 1,735 shares during the period. 79.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Company Profile

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.