Fifth Third Bancorp Grows Position in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 53.1% in the first quarter, adding 23,710 shares to reach 68,372 shares valued at about $13.9 million.
• Electronic Arts stock was trading near its 52-week high at $206.65, giving the company a market cap of about $51.8 billion and a dividend yield of roughly 0.4%.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: EA has a consensus Hold rating with a price target of $196.64, while insiders recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 53.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,372 shares of the game software company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,710 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $13,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Optas LLC increased its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 4.2% during the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 32.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the game software company's stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 24,685 shares of the game software company's stock worth $5,033,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 931 shares of the game software company's stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Electronic Arts stock opened at $206.65 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $51.82 billion, a PE ratio of 59.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.64. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.97 and a 52-week high of $206.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company's 50 day moving average is $202.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.56.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The business 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.78%.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other Electronic Arts news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.36, for a total value of $302,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,991 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,233,547.76. This 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 a total of 31,206 shares of company stock valued at $6,292,058 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Electronic Arts to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Electronic Arts from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Argus downgraded Electronic Arts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $196.64.

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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