10,000 Shares in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA Acquired by Mizuho Markets Americas LLC

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Americas LLC disclosed a new position in Electronic Arts, buying 10,000 shares valued at about $2.0 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional ownership in EA remains very high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 90.23% of the company’s shares. Several firms also recently increased their stakes.
• Analysts are mostly cautious on EA: the stock carries a Hold consensus rating, even after Citigroup nudged its price target up to $204. Meanwhile, insiders including CEO Andrew Wilson recently sold shares under pre-arranged plans.

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,000 shares of the game software company's stock, valued at approximately $2,043,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,420 shares of the game software company's stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Electronic Arts by 167.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,306 shares of the game software company's stock worth $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 12,076 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 150.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the game software company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Electronic Arts during the 2nd quarter worth $2,323,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 96.4% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,067 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,505 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Electronic Arts from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $196.64.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 5,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.19, for a total transaction of $1,005,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,507,721.53. This trade represents a 10.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,066 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.66, for a total value of $1,021,609.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 85,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,337,516.84. This represents a 5.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,906 shares of company stock valued at $8,032,336. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

NASDAQ EA opened at $200.97 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $201.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.23. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.19 and a 52-week high of $204.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.66.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.78%.

Electronic Arts Company Profile

Electronic Arts Inc NASDAQ: EA is a global interactive entertainment company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in 1982 by Trip Hawkins, EA develops, publishes and distributes video games and related content for a variety of platforms, including consoles, personal computers and mobile devices. The company combines in-house development, partnerships and studio acquisitions to create and maintain a portfolio of entertainment properties and live-service experiences for players worldwide.

EA's product lineup spans several well-known franchises and genres.

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