Gabelli Funds LLC Has $29.40 Million Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in Electronic Arts by 637.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 143,900 shares valued at about $29.4 million.
• Other major institutions also boosted holdings, including Vanguard, while hedge funds and institutions now own about 90.23% of EA’s stock.
• Analysts remain cautious on EA overall, with a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $196.64, even as the stock recently traded around $201 and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share.

Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 637.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,900 shares of the game software company's stock after acquiring an additional 124,390 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Electronic Arts worth $29,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 1.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 485,030 shares in the last quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 3rd quarter valued at $968,160,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,591,869 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $926,194,000 after acquiring an additional 374,840 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,314,962 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $870,328,000 after acquiring an additional 202,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,069,543 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $619,127,000 after acquiring an additional 638,667 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on EA shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Monday, May 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Electronic Arts has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $196.64.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of EA opened at $201.05 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.41 billion, a PE ratio of 57.61, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.66. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.19 and a 12 month high of $204.88. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $201.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.21. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts's payout ratio is presently 21.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total value of $999,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 28,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,770,157.10. The trade was a 14.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.81, for a total value of $240,972.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,560 shares in the company, valued at $5,534,323.60. This represents a 4.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 26,100 shares of company stock valued at $5,252,250. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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