Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund Put Options (NYSEARCA:XLB)

Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLB) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 271,405 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 856% compared to the average volume of 28,399 put options.

Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of XLB traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $49.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,895,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,096,279. The company has a 50 day moving average of $45.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55 and a beta of 1.03. Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund has a 1-year low of $36.56 and a 1-year high of $49.38.

Institutional Trading of Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of XLB. V2 Financial group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund during the 4th quarter valued at about $201,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 588 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 91.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 4,578 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 2,193 shares in the last quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP grew its position in Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP now owns 22,610 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 11,305 shares during the period. Finally, First United Bank & Trust raised its stake in Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 730 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.78% of the company’s stock.

About Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund

Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Materials Select Sector Index (the Index). The Index includes companies involved in such industries as chemicals; metals and mining; paper and forest products; containers and packaging, and construction materials. The Fund’s investment advisor is SSgA Funds Management, Inc