Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Reduces Stock Position in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• Catalyst Funds Management cut its Electronic Arts position by 92.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 14,750 shares and leaving it with 1,250 shares worth about $255,000.
• Insider selling continued, with CEO Andrew Wilson and CFO Stuart Canfield both selling shares under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding on vesting equity awards.
• Wall Street currently has a “Hold” consensus on EA, with a consensus target price of $196.64, while the stock recently traded near $201 and the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share.

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 92.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,250 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 14,750 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd's holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EA. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,420 shares of the game software company's stock worth $500,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 167.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,306 shares of the game software company's stock worth $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 12,076 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the second quarter worth $2,323,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 96.4% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,067 shares of the game software company's stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,505 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,066 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.66, for a total value of $1,021,609.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,337,516.84. The trade was a 5.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.36, for a total transaction of $302,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 25,991 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,233,547.76. This trade represents a 5.46% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 39,906 shares of company stock valued at $8,032,336 over the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EA shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Electronic Arts from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $196.64.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Electronic Arts stock opened at $200.97 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $50.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.58, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.66. Electronic Arts Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.19 and a fifty-two week high of $204.88. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $201.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.78%.

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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