iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSEARCA:EFA)

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSEARCA:EFA) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 179,936 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 147% compared to the average volume of 72,804 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 21,097,652 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $1,969,888,000 after purchasing an additional 184,934 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 1.6% in the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 13,813,864 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $1,289,800,000 after buying an additional 211,523 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 6.3% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 9,050,985 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $809,068,000 after buying an additional 533,545 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 0.3% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,689,604 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $776,764,000 after acquiring an additional 28,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,415,811 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $573,501,000 after acquiring an additional 176,415 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.80% of the company’s stock.

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Trading Up 0.6%

EFA opened at $97.09 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $70.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 0.84. iShares MSCI EAFE ETF has a 12-month low of $72.14 and a 12-month high of $97.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.98.

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.