Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of VanEck Semiconductor ETF Put Options (NASDAQ:SMH)

VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 160,842 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 46% compared to the average daily volume of 109,817 put options.

VanEck Semiconductor ETF Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of VanEck Semiconductor ETF stock opened at $417.52 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.83 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $372.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $336.09. VanEck Semiconductor ETF has a 12-month low of $170.11 and a 12-month high of $420.60.

VanEck Semiconductor ETF Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd were issued a dividend of $1.1047 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 31.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 22nd.

Institutional Trading of VanEck Semiconductor ETF

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in VanEck Semiconductor ETF by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,921,000 after acquiring an additional 1,666 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in VanEck Semiconductor ETF by 13.0% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Element Wealth LLC acquired a new position in VanEck Semiconductor ETF in the third quarter worth $515,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in VanEck Semiconductor ETF by 136.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 10,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,407,000 after purchasing an additional 6,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of VanEck Semiconductor ETF by 168.8% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 49,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,807,000 after buying an additional 31,089 shares during the last quarter.

VanEck Semiconductor ETF Company Profile

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 index, a market-cap-weighted index of 25 of the largest US-listed semiconductors companies. SMH was launched on May 5, 2000 and is managed by VanEck.