Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its stake in Electronic Arts by 95.9% in Q4, selling 571,525 shares and leaving 24,588 shares valued at about $5.02 million.
• Analysts show a consensus Hold rating with an average target of $188.30, while insiders — including senior executives Laura Miele and CFO Stuart Canfield — have sold roughly $5.55 million of EA stock (27,600 shares) over the past 90 days.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 95.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,588 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 571,525 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $5,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,420 shares of the game software company's stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 167.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,306 shares of the game software company's stock worth $2,790,000 after buying an additional 12,076 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 150.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the game software company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 1.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 322,390 shares of the game software company's stock worth $51,486,000 after buying an additional 4,577 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 15,872.7% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,757 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 1,746 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EA shares. Citigroup cut their target price on Electronic Arts from $207.00 to $202.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $188.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total transaction of $499,875.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 45,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,166,307.85. This represents a 5.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total transaction of $299,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 5,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,178,810.30. This represents a 20.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 27,600 shares of company stock worth $5,553,319 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 0.0%

Electronic Arts stock opened at $202.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $50.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.75. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.15 and a 52 week high of $204.88. The business's 50-day moving average price is $201.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $199.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Electronic Arts 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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