Electronic Arts Inc. $EA Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its holdings in Electronic Arts by 14.2%, resulting in a remaining ownership of 1,999,824 shares valued at approximately $289 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.5% and a dividend payout ratio of 19.05%.
• Electronic Arts has seen a mix of investment activity, with some firms like Financial Management Professionals Inc. increasing their stakes by up to 15% in recent months, while insiders have sold close to 29,900 shares in total.

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 14.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,999,824 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 330,892 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.77% of Electronic Arts worth $289,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,420 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter worth about $226,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 58.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 980,380 shares of the game software company's stock worth $143,430,000 after acquiring an additional 362,807 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Electronic Arts by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 13,845 shares of the game software company's stock worth $2,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $303,000. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In related news, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.69, for a total transaction of $429,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 55,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,544,590.48. This trade represents a 4.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,200 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.65, for a total transaction of $209,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 27,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,758,863.20. This trade represents a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,900 shares of company stock valued at $4,778,597. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EA traded down $1.51 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $166.55. 667,096 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,409,312. The stock has a market cap of $41.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.75, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.75. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.21 and a 1 year high of $180.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 27th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Electronic Arts's payout ratio is presently 19.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on EA shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Roth Capital raised shares of Electronic Arts from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $175.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Argus set a $170.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $167.12.

Electronic Arts Company 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.