Electronic Arts Inc. $EA Shares Acquired by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management increased its stake in Electronic Arts by 12.5% in the first quarter, ending with 108,908 shares worth about $22.2 million.
• Institutional interest in EA remains high, with several other hedge funds and asset managers also raising or initiating positions; 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Analysts are broadly cautious on the stock, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $196.64; meanwhile, CEO Andrew Wilson and EVP Jacob J. Schatz both recently sold shares.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 12.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,908 shares of the game software company's stock after buying an additional 12,095 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $22,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EA. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 75.8% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 85,245 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $17,194,000 after purchasing an additional 36,769 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 110,851 shares of the game software company's stock worth $22,650,000 after purchasing an additional 9,297 shares during the period. Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,503,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 227,893 shares of the game software company's stock worth $46,554,000 after buying an additional 57,268 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,745,000. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Electronic Arts to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Argus cut shares of Electronic Arts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $196.64.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EA opened at $206.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.19, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.64. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $202.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $202.51. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.97 and a 12 month high of $206.59.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.78%.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.12, for a total transaction of $1,015,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 80,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,447,438.88. This represents a 5.82% decrease in their position. 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. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.19, for a total transaction of $1,005,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,507,721.53. The trade was a 10.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 39,906 shares of company stock valued at $8,060,033 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Electronic Arts Company 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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