Empyrean Capital Partners LP Makes New $46.28 Million Investment in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Empyrean Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 227,000 shares of the game software company's stock, valued at approximately $46,278,000. Electronic Arts accounts for 1.5% of Empyrean Capital Partners LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Empyrean Capital Partners LP owned about 0.09% of Electronic Arts as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EA. Pentwater Capital Management LP raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 128.1% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 6,150,000 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at $643,674,000. HBK Investments L P bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at about $390,267,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 44.6% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,217,029 shares of the game software company's stock worth $673,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300,336 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter valued at about $165,153,000. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total value of $507,750.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 73,513 shares in the company, valued at $14,930,490.30. The trade was a 3.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,507,721.53. This represents a 10.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 31,206 shares of company stock worth $6,292,058. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Argus cut shares of Electronic Arts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. 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. Wall Street Zen raised Electronic Arts to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $198.85.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

NASDAQ:EA opened at $209.07 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $204.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $202.83. The firm has a market cap of $52.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.91, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.64. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.97 and a 52-week high of $209.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

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

About Electronic Arts

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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