Forsta AP Fonden Lowers Stock Position in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden cut its Electronic Arts stake by 39.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 43,000 shares and leaving it with 65,700 shares valued at about $13.4 million.
• Insiders also sold shares: Chief Executive Andrew Wilson and insider Laura Miele both reduced their holdings in May, with the quarter’s insider sales totaling 39,906 shares worth about $8.0 million.
• Analysts remain cautious on EA, with a Hold consensus and an average price target of $196.64; the stock recently traded around $201.72 and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share.

Forsta AP Fonden reduced its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 39.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,700 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 43,000 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $13,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in Electronic Arts by 100.0% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 138 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 333.3% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 260 shares of the game software company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.54, for a total transaction of $501,350.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 40,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,190,655.22. The trade was a 5.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,066 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.66, for a total transaction of $1,021,609.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 85,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,337,516.84. This trade represents a 5.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 quarter, insiders have sold 39,906 shares of company stock worth $8,032,336. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Argus lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $196.64.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

NASDAQ EA opened at $201.72 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.19 and a 12-month high of $204.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.25. The firm has a market cap of $50.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.80, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.66.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. Electronic Arts's payout ratio 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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