Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,588 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 276 shares during the quarter. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EA. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 8,869 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $1,272,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Electronic Arts by 6.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 34,734 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $4,982,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Electronic Arts by 2.7% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 110,118 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $15,795,000 after acquiring an additional 2,878 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in Electronic Arts by 6.7% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 25,765 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $3,696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $791,000. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Down 6.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ EA opened at $135.34 on Friday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.21 and a 12-month high of $168.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $134.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 17.80%. As a group, analysts expect that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is 19.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $175.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson upgraded Electronic Arts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In related news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.45, for a total value of $215,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,386 shares in the company, valued at $3,354,721.70. This trade represents a 6.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.68, for a total transaction of $713,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 42,615 shares in the company, valued at $6,080,308.20. The trade was a 10.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,000 shares of company stock worth $3,015,990 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Profile

Electronic Arts Inc develops, markets, publishes, and distributes games, content, and services for game consoles, PCs, mobile phones, and tablets worldwide. It develops and publishes games and services across various genres, such as sports, racing, first-person shooter, action, role-playing, and simulation primarily under the Battlefield, The Sims, Apex Legends, Need for Speed, and license games from others, including FIFA, Madden NFL, UFC, and Star Wars brands.