Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,901,647 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 53,768 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Electronic Arts worth $4,228,311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 353.4% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,269,258 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $185,692,000 after acquiring an additional 989,319 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Electronic Arts by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,099,746 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $160,893,000 after purchasing an additional 373,730 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 8,503.9% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 318,085 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $45,626,000 after purchasing an additional 314,388 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 165.7% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 417,817 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $61,127,000 after purchasing an additional 260,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,334,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.50, for a total value of $712,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,647,637.50. The trade was a 13.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.45, for a total value of $215,175.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,354,721.70. This represents a 6.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,166,740. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on EA. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Ascendiant Capital Markets lifted their target price on Electronic Arts from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Electronic Arts from $145.00 to $142.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Electronic Arts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.65.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

EA opened at $144.55 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $132.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.61. Electronic Arts Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.21 and a fifty-two week high of $168.50. The firm has a market cap of $37.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 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, sell-side analysts expect that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is 19.34%.

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.