Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Sells 226,120 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. reduced its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. by 73.9%, selling 226,120 shares in the second quarter, leaving them with 79,776 shares valued at approximately $14.15 million.
• Electronic Arts recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 19.05%.
• Recent analyst ratings for Electronic Arts exhibit mixed sentiment, with one firm downgrading the stock to a "market perform" while another increased its price target from $166 to $210.

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. reduced its position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 73.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,776 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 226,120 shares during the quarter. Electronic Arts makes up 0.8% of Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.'s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $14,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in Electronic Arts in the second quarter worth $214,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in Electronic Arts in the first quarter worth $319,000. CCM Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Electronic Arts in the first quarter worth $1,625,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 2.1% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 653,581 shares of the game software company's stock worth $94,456,000 after purchasing an additional 13,461 shares during the period. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 4.6% during the second quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 91,328 shares of the game software company's stock worth $13,944,000 after acquiring an additional 3,999 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EA opened at $200.01 on Monday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.21 and a twelve month high of $203.75. The firm has a market cap of $50.05 billion, a PE ratio of 50.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $177.15 and a 200-day moving average of $158.70.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th were paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 27th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered Electronic Arts from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Electronic Arts from $166.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. TD Cowen lowered Electronic Arts from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Arete upgraded Electronic Arts from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $192.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $168.00 price objective on Electronic Arts and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $177.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.52, for a total value of $205,824.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 26,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,473,241.60. This trade represents a 4.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.79, for a total value of $504,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 53,092 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,713,434.68. This trade represents a 4.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,247,635 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Electronic Arts Profile

Electronic Arts Inc develops, markets, publishes, and distributes games, content, and services for game consoles, PCs, mobile phones, and tablets worldwide. It develops and publishes games and services across various genres, such as sports, racing, first-person shooter, action, role-playing, and simulation primarily under the Battlefield, The Sims, Apex Legends, Need for Speed, and license games from others, including FIFA, Madden NFL, UFC, and Star Wars brands.

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