Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Buys 350,576 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management sharply increased its stake in Electronic Arts, buying 350,576 additional shares in the fourth quarter and raising its holdings to 355,188 shares worth about $72.6 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other investors continuing to add to EA positions; the article notes institutions own 90.23% of the company.
• Analysts are mostly neutral on EA, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $196.64, while the stock recently traded around $200.64 and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 7,601.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 355,188 shares of the game software company's stock after purchasing an additional 350,576 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned about 0.14% of Electronic Arts worth $72,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EA. Pentwater Capital Management LP bought a new position in Electronic Arts during the third quarter valued at approximately $968,160,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 44.6% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,217,029 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $673,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300,336 shares during the period. Man Group plc lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 165.5% during the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,279,249 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $204,296,000 after purchasing an additional 797,461 shares during the period. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC bought a new position in Electronic Arts during the third quarter valued at approximately $156,760,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 26.3% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,069,543 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $619,127,000 after purchasing an additional 638,667 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $196.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.21, for a total transaction of $1,016,050.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 23,858 shares in the company, valued at $4,848,184.18. This trade represents a 17.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total transaction of $243,900.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 28,760 shares in the company, valued at $5,845,470. The trade was a 4.01% 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. Insiders have sold 27,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,544,159 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

EA opened at $200.64 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.19 and a 1-year high of $204.88. The company has a market capitalization of $50.31 billion, a PE ratio of 57.49, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $201.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $202.20.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.78%.

Electronic Arts Company Profile

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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