Cibc World Market Inc. Sells 21,760 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• Cibc World Market Inc. reduced its stake in Electronic Arts by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 21,760 shares and leaving it with 114,981 shares worth about $23.5 million.
• Analysts are mostly neutral on EA, with the stock carrying a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $196.64. Recent updates included small target increases and a few rating downgrades/upgrades, but no strong bullish shift.
• Electronic Arts insiders also sold shares recently, including CEO Andrew Wilson and CFO Stuart Canfield, with the company noting the sales were tied to tax withholding from vested equity awards. EA also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, payable June 17.

Cibc World Market Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 114,981 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 21,760 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Market Inc.'s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $23,494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 138 shares of the game software company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 150.8% during the 1st 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. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 231 shares of the game software company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 333.3% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 260 shares of the game software company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on EA. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of 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 research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Electronic Arts to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $196.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,066 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.66, for a total transaction of $1,021,609.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 85,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,337,516.84. This trade represents a 5.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.36, for a total value of $302,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,991 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,233,547.76. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 sold 39,906 shares of company stock worth $8,032,336 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

EA stock opened at $203.00 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $202.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $202.29. The company has a market capitalization of $50.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.17, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.65. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.54 and a 52-week high of $204.88. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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