Aberdeen Group plc Has $31.82 Million Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc has significantly reduced its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. by 72.2%, selling 575,256 shares and now holding 221,770 shares worth approximately $31.82 million.
• Electronic Arts has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.4%, to be paid on September 17th to shareholders of record as of August 27th.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Electronic Arts, with a consensus price target of $167.12 and ratings ranging from "hold" to "strong buy" among 29 analysts.

Aberdeen Group plc lessened its holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 72.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 221,770 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 575,256 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.09% of Electronic Arts worth $31,822,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,052,085 shares of the game software company's stock worth $4,198,607,000 after purchasing an additional 150,438 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Electronic Arts by 15.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,733,481 shares of the game software company's stock worth $539,563,000 after acquiring an additional 504,760 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Electronic Arts by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,257,281 shares of the game software company's stock worth $476,540,000 after acquiring an additional 360,563 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Electronic Arts by 62.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,253,505 shares of the game software company's stock worth $470,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254,194 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Electronic Arts by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,663,957 shares of the game software company's stock worth $389,737,000 after purchasing an additional 132,703 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Electronic Arts from $166.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Arete Research set a $192.00 price objective on Electronic Arts in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group set a $167.00 target price on Electronic Arts and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Argus set a $170.00 target price on Electronic Arts in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Electronic Arts from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $167.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,200 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.65, for a total transaction of $209,580.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 27,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,758,863.20. The trade was a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.49, for a total value of $388,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 58,092 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,032,725.08. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,200 shares of company stock valued at $3,116,350 in the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of EA stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $171.55. 1,641,108 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,499,007. Electronic Arts Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.21 and a fifty-two week high of $180.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $42.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.99, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.72.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 27th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.05%.

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.