Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Stake Reduced by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200,838 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 12,900 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.08% of Electronic Arts worth $29,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EA. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Electronic Arts by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 26,676 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $3,826,000 after buying an additional 1,351 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Electronic Arts by 139.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,975 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $414,000 after buying an additional 1,733 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Electronic Arts by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 129,387 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $18,559,000 after buying an additional 12,468 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Electronic Arts by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,371 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts during the 3rd quarter worth about $914,000. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.83, for a total value of $327,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 47,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,216,256.62. This represents a 5.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.45, for a total value of $164,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,969,021.20. This represents a 3.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,812,285 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ EA opened at $129.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $33.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.08, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.34. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.21 and a 52 week high of $168.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 14.28%. On average, research analysts predict that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is currently 19.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Electronic Arts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.55.

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.