LSV Asset Management Sells 181,790 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management cut its stake in Electronic Arts by 85.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 181,790 shares and leaving it with 31,155 shares valued at about $6.37 million.
• Other institutions showed mixed activity in EA, with several funds increasing positions while institutional ownership overall remains high at 90.23% of the company.
• Analysts are largely cautious on Electronic Arts: the stock has a Hold consensus rating with an average price target of $196.64, while the company also recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share.

LSV Asset Management lowered its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 85.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 31,155 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 181,790 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management's holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $6,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EA. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,420 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 167.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,306 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $2,790,000 after purchasing an additional 12,076 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 150.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,323,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 96.4% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,067 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 1,505 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EA. Citigroup boosted their target price on Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note 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, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $196.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.81, for a total value of $240,972.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,534,323.60. This represents a 4.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.36, for a total value of $302,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,991 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,233,547.76. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders sold 39,906 shares of company stock valued at $8,032,336 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of EA stock opened at $201.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $50.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.63, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.66. The business's fifty day moving average is $202.02 and its 200 day moving average is $202.25. Electronic Arts Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.19 and a twelve month high of $204.88. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio is presently 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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