Ninety One North America Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• Ninety One North America Inc. increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 42.7% during the 2nd quarter, acquiring an additional 96,706 shares to total 323,008 shares, which makes Electronic Arts about 2.5% of its total investments.
• Several major hedge funds have also raised their positions in Electronic Arts, with Goldman Sachs increasing theirs by 62.7% during the 1st quarter, showing strong institutional interest in the company.
• Analyst ratings are mixed, with BMO Capital Markets boosting the target price to $210.00 while HSBC lowered its rating to "hold," indicating a varied outlook on the stock's future performance.

Ninety One North America Inc. raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 42.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 323,008 shares of the game software company's stock after acquiring an additional 96,706 shares during the period. Electronic Arts makes up approximately 2.5% of Ninety One North America Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Ninety One North America Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Electronic Arts worth $51,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,052,085 shares of the game software company's stock worth $4,198,607,000 after acquiring an additional 150,438 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 4,355,950 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $695,645,000 after purchasing an additional 193,442 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,945,702 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $570,233,000 after purchasing an additional 88,767 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,733,481 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $539,563,000 after purchasing an additional 504,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $470,197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254,194 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EA has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Electronic Arts from $166.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. HSBC cut Electronic Arts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $191.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Monday. Baird R W cut Electronic Arts from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded Electronic Arts from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $175.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $176.04.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.32, for a total value of $222,480.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,219,407.36. This represents a 5.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.49, for a total value of $388,725.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 58,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,032,725.08. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,500 shares of company stock valued at $6,743,160 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of EA stock opened at $201.70 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $169.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.44. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $50.47 billion, a PE ratio of 50.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.75. Electronic Arts Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.21 and a fifty-two week high of $203.75.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is currently 19.05%.

Electronic Arts Company 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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