Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSEARCA:EFA)

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSEARCA:EFA) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 145,250 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 102% compared to the typical volume of 71,958 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iShares MSCI EAFE ETF

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EFA. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 359.5% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 11,306,948 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $1,085,806,000 after acquiring an additional 8,846,240 shares during the period. Causeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 70,110.5% during the third quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 4,959,667 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $463,084,000 after acquiring an additional 4,952,603 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 31,617,599 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $3,036,238,000 after acquiring an additional 4,244,605 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 40,215,965 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $3,861,939,000 after acquiring an additional 3,481,849 shares during the period. Finally, Valpey Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 9,468.5% during the fourth quarter. Valpey Financial Services LLC now owns 2,091,588 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $200,855,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069,729 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.80% of the company’s stock.

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Stock Performance

Shares of EFA traded up $2.39 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $102.32. 16,584,565 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,095,898. iShares MSCI EAFE ETF has a 1-year low of $84.36 and a 1-year high of $105.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $100.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.17.

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.