Lazard Asset Management LLC Lowers Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 522,114 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 7,490 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.20% of Electronic Arts worth $69,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Electronic Arts by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,159,718 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $3,868,620,000 after buying an additional 3,727,251 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $281,054,000. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,901,257 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $782,920,000 after purchasing an additional 833,492 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 350.6% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 752,026 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $102,885,000 after purchasing an additional 585,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 101.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 709,837 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $97,113,000 after purchasing an additional 356,863 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $161.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $153.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.86, for a total transaction of $144,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,246,860.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Electronic Arts news, COO Laura Miele sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.15, for a total transaction of $256,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,772 shares in the company, valued at $4,199,731.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.86, for a total transaction of $144,860.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,317 shares in the company, valued at $4,246,860.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,539 shares of company stock valued at $3,199,031 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EA traded up $3.38 on Friday, reaching $145.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,341,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,101,151. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $138.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.58. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52-week low of $117.47 and a 52-week high of $148.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.02, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.79.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The game software company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 18.81% and a net margin of 16.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 29th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.24%.

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.