Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 36,531 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group reduced its stake in Electronic Arts by 6.1% in the first quarter, selling 36,531 shares and leaving it with 563,730 shares valued at about $114.9 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with investors holding about 90.23% of EA’s stock, and several other funds also reported buying or adding to their positions during the quarter.
• Analysts are mostly cautious on EA: the stock’s consensus rating is “Hold,” with a consensus price target of $196.64, while recent commentary included both upgrades and downgrades to neutral or hold.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 563,730 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 36,531 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Electronic Arts worth $114,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Electronic Arts by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 108,908 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $22,185,000 after acquiring an additional 12,095 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,840 shares of the game software company's stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Credit Industriel ET Commercial lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 284.7% during the 1st quarter. Credit Industriel ET Commercial now owns 45,785 shares of the game software company's stock worth $9,334,000 after purchasing an additional 33,885 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 22.1% in the first quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,467 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 33.0% in the first quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,763 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Electronic Arts to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective 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. 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. Finally, Argus cut shares of Electronic Arts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Electronic Arts presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $196.64.

Electronic Arts Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:EA traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $206.41. 1,228,540 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,937,871. The company has a fifty day moving average of $202.76 and a 200 day moving average of $202.54. Electronic Arts Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.97 and a twelve month high of $206.63. The company has a market capitalization of $51.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio is 21.78%.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,066 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,337,516.84. This trade represents a 5.56% decrease in their position. The sale 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 5,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.19, for a total transaction of $1,005,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,507,721.53. This trade represents a 10.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 39,906 shares of company stock worth $8,060,033. 0.24% of the stock is owned by 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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