Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Trims Holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. by 12.5% in Q1, now owning 12,353 shares valued at approximately $1.785 million.
• Notable institutional investors have increased their stakes in Electronic Arts, with Goldman Sachs raising its position by 62.7%, owning over 3.25 million shares worth $470 million.
• Electronic Arts declared a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, set for distribution on September 17th, indicating a 0.5% dividend yield.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 12.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,353 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 1,758 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $1,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EA. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Electronic Arts by 62.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,253,505 shares of the game software company's stock worth $470,197,000 after buying an additional 1,254,194 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 3,477.8% during the 1st quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,163,747 shares of the game software company's stock worth $168,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131,220 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 689.3% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,238,496 shares of the game software company's stock worth $178,987,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081,589 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 1,366.6% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,118,685 shares of the game software company's stock worth $161,672,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,407 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 224.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,207,854 shares of the game software company's stock worth $176,709,000 after purchasing an additional 835,985 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 6,563 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.18, for a total transaction of $992,194.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 70,059 shares in the company, valued at $10,591,519.62. This represents a 8.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.49, for a total transaction of $388,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,032,725.08. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,729 shares of company stock valued at $4,677,124. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of EA stock opened at $167.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $41.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.02, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.72. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.21 and a 1-year high of $168.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $153.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.97.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 27th. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Argus set a $170.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Electronic Arts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.35.

About Electronic Arts

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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