Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Position in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group reduced its stake in Electronic Arts by 8.7% in the first quarter, selling 28,333 shares and leaving it with 299,117 shares valued at about $61 million.
• EA shares were trading around $207.84, near their 52-week high, giving the company a market cap of about $52.1 billion. The stock has a P/E ratio of 59.55 and a dividend yield of 0.4%.
• Analysts remain cautious overall, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $196.64. Recent insider sales included CEO Andrew Wilson and CFO Stuart Canfield, with insiders selling 31,206 shares over the past 90 days.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 299,117 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 28,333 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Electronic Arts worth $60,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Electronic Arts during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company's stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 0.3%

EA opened at $207.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.55, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $203.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $202.59. Electronic Arts Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.97 and a twelve month high of $207.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid 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 was Wednesday, May 27th. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on EA shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Argus lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Electronic Arts to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $196.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Electronic Arts news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.12, for a total transaction of $1,015,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 80,974 shares in the company, valued at $16,447,438.88. The trade was a 5.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.36, for a total transaction of $302,040.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,991 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,233,547.76. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 31,206 shares of company stock valued at $6,292,058 over the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Electronic Arts 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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