iShares Semiconductor ETF Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:SOXX)

iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 49,561 put options on the company. This is an increase of 29% compared to the average volume of 38,560 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in iShares Semiconductor ETF during the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of iShares Semiconductor ETF by 83.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,238 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of iShares Semiconductor ETF by 102.6% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 3,495 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,770 shares during the period. Amundi acquired a new stake in shares of iShares Semiconductor ETF in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $831,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in iShares Semiconductor ETF by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,817 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter.

iShares Semiconductor ETF Price Performance

Shares of iShares Semiconductor ETF stock traded up $28.85 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $590.88. The company had a trading volume of 6,572,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,267,576. The company has a market cap of $42.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.84 and a beta of 1.77. iShares Semiconductor ETF has a twelve month low of $232.33 and a twelve month high of $655.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $559.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $422.67.

iShares Semiconductor ETF Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.2827 per share. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This is an increase from iShares Semiconductor ETF’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21.

About iShares Semiconductor ETF

iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF, formerly iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index Fund (the Fund), is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the United States-listed semiconductor stocks as represented by the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index (the Index). The Index is an equity benchmark for the United States-listed semiconductor stocks. The Index includes companies primarily involved in the design, distribution, manufacture and sale of semiconductors.