Capula Management Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• Capula Management Ltd increased its stake in Electronic Arts by 12.1% in the first quarter, adding 15,948 shares to bring its total to 148,098 shares worth about $30.2 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 90.23% of Electronic Arts stock, and several other investors also reporting recent position increases.
• Analysts are largely cautious on EA: the consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $196.64, while recent ratings changes included both upgrades and downgrades.

Capula Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 12.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 148,098 shares of the game software company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,948 shares during the quarter. Electronic Arts accounts for approximately 0.2% of Capula Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Capula Management Ltd owned approximately 0.06% of Electronic Arts worth $30,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Transmarket Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the 1st quarter worth $343,000. CI Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 3,573 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 11.0% in the first quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 12,935 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $2,637,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 46,781 shares of the game software company's stock worth $9,537,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 122.0% in the first quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda now owns 213,193 shares of the game software company's stock worth $43,464,000 after acquiring an additional 117,139 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EA shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Electronic Arts to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Electronic Arts from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Electronic Arts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $196.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.36, for a total value of $302,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 25,991 shares in the company, valued at $5,233,547.76. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,200 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.00, for a total value of $243,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 26,360 shares in the company, valued at $5,351,080. This represents a 4.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,206 shares of company stock valued at $6,292,058. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 0.0%

EA opened at $209.00 on Friday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.97 and a twelve month high of $209.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $204.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.76. The company has a market cap of $52.41 billion, a PE ratio of 59.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.64.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.78%.

About Electronic Arts

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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