Investors Buy High Volume of Put Options on VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH)

VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 226,647 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 89% compared to the typical daily volume of 119,996 put options.

Institutional Trading of VanEck Semiconductor ETF

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SMH. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in VanEck Semiconductor ETF by 170.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,174,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,384,288,000 after purchasing an additional 7,678,318 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in VanEck Semiconductor ETF by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,657,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $957,061,000 after acquiring an additional 121,815 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in VanEck Semiconductor ETF by 93.3% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,458,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,718,000 after purchasing an additional 703,799 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its holdings in VanEck Semiconductor ETF by 158.7% during the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,198,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,759,000 after purchasing an additional 735,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in VanEck Semiconductor ETF by 24,986.6% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 755,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,437,000 after buying an additional 752,097 shares during the period.

VanEck Semiconductor ETF Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:SMH traded down $14.15 on Thursday, hitting $412.01. 14,650,367 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,700,291. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $391.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $351.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.83 and a beta of 1.52. VanEck Semiconductor ETF has a 1-year low of $170.11 and a 1-year high of $427.94.

VanEck Semiconductor ETF Dividend Announcement

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

About VanEck Semiconductor ETF

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.