Ascent Group LLC Sells 12,897 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC reduced its holdings in Electronic Arts by 70.8%, selling 12,897 shares and retaining only 5,331 shares valued at $770,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, increased their stakes in Electronic Arts, contributing to institutional ownership of the stock at 90.23%.
• Electronic Arts' CFO recently sold shares at an average price of $171.06, contributing to a notable decrease in insider ownership, which now stands at just 0.24%.

Ascent Group LLC lessened its holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 70.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,331 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 12,897 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,052,085 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $4,198,607,000 after buying an additional 150,438 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,945,702 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $570,233,000 after buying an additional 88,767 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,733,481 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $539,563,000 after purchasing an additional 504,760 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 62.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,253,505 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $470,197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 197.5% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,916,693 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $421,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,313 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EA shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Arete Research set a $192.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group set a $167.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $166.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Argus set a $170.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $167.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In related news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $171,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,589,848.40. This represents a 6.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.65, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,900 shares of company stock worth $4,778,597 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

NASDAQ EA opened at $166.04 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.02. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.21 and a 52-week high of $180.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $41.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.61, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.75.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 27th. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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