National Pension Service Sells 12,111 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• National Pension Service reduced its Electronic Arts stake by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 12,111 shares and leaving it with 457,333 shares valued at about $93.4 million.
• EA announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, or $0.76 annualized, which implies a modest yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 21.78%.
• Insiders sold shares recently, including CEO Andrew Wilson and CFO Stuart Canfield, while Wall Street analysts currently rate EA a consensus “Hold” with an average target price of $196.64.

National Pension Service lowered its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 457,333 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 12,111 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.18% of Electronic Arts worth $93,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EA. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 138 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 150.8% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 231 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 333.3% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 260 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company's stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EA opened at $201.72 on Friday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.19 and a 1 year high of $204.88. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $202.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.58 billion, a PE ratio of 57.80, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.66.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EA. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Argus downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Electronic Arts currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $196.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,066 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.66, for a total value of $1,021,609.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,337,516.84. This trade represents a 5.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.36, for a total transaction of $302,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 25,991 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,906 shares of company stock valued at $8,032,336. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate 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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