Electronic Arts Inc. $EA Stake Lowered by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. by 11.5%, now holding approximately 2.88 million shares worth $416.8 million.
• Other hedge funds, such as Vanguard Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., have increased their investments, indicating a strong overall institutional interest in EA.
• Electronic Arts announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for August 27th, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.4%.

Northern Trust Corp cut its position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,884,126 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 373,155 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.11% of Electronic Arts worth $416,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,052,085 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $4,198,607,000 after purchasing an additional 150,438 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 15.6% in 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. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 62.7% in 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. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,663,957 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $389,737,000 after purchasing an additional 132,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,401,357 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $347,028,000 after purchasing an additional 306,020 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

EA stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $171.40. 1,707,305 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,402,479. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.58. Electronic Arts Inc. has a one year low of $115.21 and a one year high of $180.90. The company has a market cap of $42.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 27th. Electronic Arts's payout ratio is presently 19.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.49, for a total value of $388,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,092 shares in the company, valued at $9,032,725.08. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $171,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 15,140 shares in the company, valued at $2,589,848.40. The trade was a 6.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,200 shares of company stock worth $4,142,660. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $166.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Arete Research set a $192.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $167.12.

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.