Avanza Fonder AB Acquires 2,894 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• Avanza Fonder AB increased its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. by 22% during the 2nd quarter, acquiring an additional 2,894 shares, bringing their total holdings to 16,069 shares worth approximately $2.57 million.
• The company's recent quarterly dividend of $0.19 was paid to shareholders, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 19.05%.
• Electronic Arts has seen notable interest from institutional investors, with 90.23% of shares owned by them, and various analysts upgrading their price targets for the stock amidst a generally positive outlook.

Avanza Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 22.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,069 shares of the game software company's stock after buying an additional 2,894 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $2,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the 1st quarter valued at about $319,000. CCM Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,625,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.1% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 653,581 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $94,456,000 after buying an additional 13,461 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 105,892 shares of the game software company's stock worth $15,300,000 after buying an additional 5,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 162,571 shares of the game software company's stock worth $23,495,000 after acquiring an additional 6,835 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of Electronic Arts stock traded up $0.33 during trading on Monday, hitting $173.42. 2,838,434 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,549,019. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $165.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.62. Electronic Arts Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.21 and a fifty-two week high of $180.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 27th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts's payout ratio is 19.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on EA. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Arete Research set a $192.00 target price on Electronic Arts in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $168.00 target price on Electronic Arts and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Electronic Arts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $167.40.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were 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 $2,589,848.40. This represents a 6.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.52, for a total transaction of $205,824.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 26,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,473,241.60. The trade was a 4.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,800 shares of company stock valued at $4,214,010 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Electronic Arts 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.