Franklin Resources Inc. Has $94.31 Million Stock Holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• Franklin Resources reduced its Electronic Arts stake by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, but still held 461,576 shares valued at about $94.3 million at quarter-end.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with 90.23% of EA stock held by hedge funds and other institutions. Several firms increased positions, while a few, including Franklin Resources, trimmed exposure.
• Insider selling continued, including CEO Andrew Wilson and executive Laura Miele; over the past 90 days, insiders sold nearly 39,906 shares worth about $8.0 million.

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 461,576 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 24,515 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.18% of Electronic Arts worth $94,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Electronic Arts by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 32,542 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $6,649,000 after acquiring an additional 6,426 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Electronic Arts by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 2,210 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. ING Groep NV raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 235.4% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 141,549 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $28,923,000 after purchasing an additional 99,340 shares during the period. Finally, 111 Capital raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. 111 Capital now owns 2,750 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 85,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,337,516.84. The trade was a 5.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total transaction of $499,875.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,843 shares in the company, valued at $9,166,307.85. This trade represents a 5.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,906 shares of company stock worth $8,032,336. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on EA. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Electronic Arts from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Argus lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Electronic Arts to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $196.64.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:EA opened at $203.20 on Thursday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.54 and a 12 month high of $204.88. The firm has a market cap of $50.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.65. 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 $202.26 and its 200-day moving average is $202.33.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. 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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