Electronic Arts Inc. $EA Shares Sold by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd sharply reduced its Electronic Arts stake by 85.6% in Q1, selling 8,943 shares and leaving it with 1,508 shares worth about $307,000.
• Despite that sale, institutional ownership remains heavy: roughly 90.23% of EA is held by institutional investors and hedge funds, with firms like Vanguard and Pentwater holding large positions.
• Analysts are mostly cautious on EA, with a consensus “Hold” rating and average target price of $196.64; the stock recently traded near $207 and the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd trimmed its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 85.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,508 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 8,943 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $307,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,773,086 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $5,879,205,000 after purchasing an additional 485,030 shares during the last quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 128.1% in the fourth quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 10,950,000 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $2,237,414,000 after buying an additional 6,150,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,764,572 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $1,382,030,000 after buying an additional 143,195 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,314,962 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $870,328,000 after buying an additional 202,657 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 44.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,217,029 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $673,393,000 after buying an additional 1,300,336 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Electronic Arts to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Argus cut shares of Electronic Arts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $196.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.00, for a total value of $243,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 26,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,351,080. This trade represents a 4.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred 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 represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,206 shares of company stock worth $6,292,058. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:EA opened at $207.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $51.97 billion, a PE ratio of 59.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $203.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.57. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.97 and a 12-month high of $207.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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