Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Stake Lessened by Advisory Services Network LLC

Advisory Services Network LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,872 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 99 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,702,586 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $978,650,000 after acquiring an additional 30,929 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Electronic Arts by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,430,409 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $648,169,000 after purchasing an additional 270,991 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,228,721 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $472,362,000 after purchasing an additional 120,632 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,990,729 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $431,315,000 after purchasing an additional 122,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,789,283 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $261,772,000 after buying an additional 23,289 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of EA stock opened at $145.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.21 and a 12 month high of $168.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $137.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.38. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share 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, equities analysts expect that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is currently 19.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.65, for a total value of $218,475.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,772,156.45. This trade represents a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.03, for a total transaction of $122,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,443,198.48. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,000 shares of company stock worth $3,019,290 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on EA shares. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Electronic Arts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $145.00 to $142.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $138.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $173.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Electronic Arts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.65.

About Electronic Arts

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.