Investors Buy High Volume of Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund Put Options (NYSEARCA:XLB)

Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLB) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 282,461 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 686% compared to the average daily volume of 35,927 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,234 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund in the first quarter worth approximately $1,217,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund during the second quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 514.5% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 338 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund during the second quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.78% of the company’s stock.

Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund Stock Performance

Shares of XLB traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $53.38. The company had a trading volume of 12,795,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,963,473. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $47.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.53. Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund has a 52 week low of $36.56 and a 52 week high of $53.67. The company has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55 and a beta of 1.03.

About Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund

Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Materials Select Sector Index (the Index). The Index includes companies involved in such industries as chemicals; metals and mining; paper and forest products; containers and packaging, and construction materials. The Fund’s investment advisor is SSgA Funds Management, Inc