Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Stock Holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 689.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,238,496 shares of the game software company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,081,589 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.48% of Electronic Arts worth $178,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 560 shares of the game software company's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 34.2% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 298 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 2,475 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 812 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,951 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EA. HSBC upgraded Electronic Arts from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Roth Capital restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wedbush upped their target price on Electronic Arts from $179.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $153.00 price target (up from $139.00) on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on Electronic Arts from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $161.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $145,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,801,320. This trade represents a 3.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,666 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.93, for a total value of $402,379.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,171,625.49. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,729 shares of company stock valued at $4,107,664. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of EA traded down $1.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $148.48. The company had a trading volume of 1,703,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,760,338. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.21 and a 52-week high of $168.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.78, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $146.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.15.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Electronic Arts's payout ratio is 17.92%.

About Electronic Arts

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.