Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 1,350,458 Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,350,458 shares of the game software company’s stock, valued at approximately $188,159,000. Electronic Arts comprises 2.1% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 3,727,251 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 496.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,511,250 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $333,169,000 after purchasing an additional 2,090,504 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $281,054,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Electronic Arts in the 1st quarter worth approximately $201,935,000. Finally, Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Electronic Arts in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $189,055,000. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Luis A. Ubinas sold 2,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.77, for a total value of $312,033.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Electronic Arts news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.15, for a total value of $127,150.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,215,715.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Luis A. Ubinas sold 2,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.77, for a total value of $312,033.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,365 shares of company stock valued at $3,509,502. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

NASDAQ EA traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $146.60. 2,640,923 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,176,192. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.21. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 1 year low of $117.47 and a 1 year high of $153.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $38.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.79.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The game software company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 16.34%. On average, analysts predict that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 5.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 28th. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is currently 16.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on EA. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Electronic Arts from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup downgraded Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $161.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.16.

Electronic Arts Company 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.