Investors Purchase High Volume of iShares Semiconductor ETF Put Options (NASDAQ:SOXX)

iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 57,170 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 136% compared to the typical daily volume of 24,226 put options.

iShares Semiconductor ETF Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:SOXX traded up $9.91 on Wednesday, reaching $614.93. The company had a trading volume of 5,884,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,434,294. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.84 and a beta of 1.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $441.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $365.70. iShares Semiconductor ETF has a twelve month low of $213.54 and a twelve month high of $618.84.

iShares Semiconductor ETF Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a $0.2079 dividend. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iShares Semiconductor ETF

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in iShares Semiconductor ETF in the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in iShares Semiconductor ETF by 102.6% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 3,495 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $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 second quarter valued at about $831,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of iShares Semiconductor ETF by 9.0% in the second 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 during the last quarter.

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.