Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX)

iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 14,676 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 39% compared to the typical daily volume of 10,577 call options.

Institutional Trading of iShares Semiconductor ETF

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cornerstone Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iShares Semiconductor ETF in the 4th quarter worth $342,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iShares Semiconductor ETF in the 4th quarter worth $2,974,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of iShares Semiconductor ETF by 485.9% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 127,123 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $38,278,000 after acquiring an additional 105,426 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its stake in shares of iShares Semiconductor ETF by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 1,312 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of iShares Semiconductor ETF in the 4th quarter worth $38,000.

iShares Semiconductor ETF Trading Up 1.4%

SOXX stock traded up $5.32 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $375.72. The stock had a trading volume of 3,504,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,369,668. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $344.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $316.46. The company has a market cap of $23.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.84 and a beta of 1.53. iShares Semiconductor ETF has a 52-week low of $160.26 and a 52-week high of $377.14.

iShares Semiconductor ETF Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a $0.2079 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%.

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.