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

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSEARCA:EFA) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 83,691 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 41% compared to the average daily volume of 59,408 put options.

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of EFA traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $77.13. 15,433,599 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,792,557. iShares MSCI EAFE ETF has a 1-year low of $70.64 and a 1-year high of $84.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $81.03 and a 200-day moving average of $80.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iShares MSCI EAFE ETF

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,440,338 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $2,191,386,000 after acquiring an additional 4,116,234 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 33.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,765,455 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $686,598,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179,857 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 764.7% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,935,011 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $151,569,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711,236 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 31.0% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 5,825,155 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $456,284,000 after buying an additional 1,377,019 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas boosted its stake in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 35,177.0% during the third quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 977,879 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $81,780,000 after buying an additional 975,107 shares during the last quarter. 79.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About iShares MSCI EAFE ETF

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.