Ninety One North America Inc. Cuts Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Ninety One North America Inc. lowered its position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 400,689 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 74,936 shares during the period. Electronic Arts makes up about 2.7% of Ninety One North America Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $54,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 16.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,636,385 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $3,086,621,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600,388 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 2.2% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,912,701 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $1,555,333,000 after purchasing an additional 272,146 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 0.9% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,808,956 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $698,212,000 after purchasing an additional 52,736 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 7.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,156,556 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $500,449,000 after purchasing an additional 301,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 13.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,389,395 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $408,084,000 after purchasing an additional 389,063 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.88, for a total transaction of $347,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 30,930 shares in the company, valued at $4,295,558.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.43, for a total transaction of $109,944.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 28,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,941,904.69. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.88, for a total value of $347,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 30,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,295,558.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,144 shares of company stock worth $5,143,560. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of Electronic Arts stock traded down $0.44 on Thursday, reaching $125.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 324,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,029,702. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52-week low of $117.47 and a 52-week high of $144.53. The company has a market capitalization of $33.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.83, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $135.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.31.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The game software company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($1.38). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 20.58% and a net margin of 14.09%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is 19.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $153.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group lowered their price target on Electronic Arts from $146.00 to $143.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Electronic Arts from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Electronic Arts in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $162.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.00.

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.