Westpac Banking Corp Reduces Stock Position in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp cut its Electronic Arts stake by 80.7% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 3,310 shares valued at about $676,000.
• Other institutional investors were mixed on EA, with some increasing positions, and overall institutional ownership remains high at 90.23% of the company.
• Wall Street is largely cautious on the stock: EA has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $196.64, while insiders also sold shares in recent months, including CEO Andrew Wilson.

Westpac Banking Corp lowered its position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 80.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,310 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 13,823 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC grew its position in Electronic Arts by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 10,402 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $2,125,000 after acquiring an additional 3,130 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 376.7% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,740 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375 shares during the period. Ellevest Inc. bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter worth about $314,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,529 shares of the game software company's stock worth $721,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Electronic Arts by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 99,596 shares of the game software company's stock worth $20,350,000 after buying an additional 2,750 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EA shares. Argus cut shares of Electronic Arts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Electronic Arts from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $196.64.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In other news, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total transaction of $499,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 45,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,166,307.85. The trade was a 5.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,066 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $17,337,516.84. The trade was a 5.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 39,906 shares of company stock worth $8,032,336. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

EA opened at $203.40 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $51.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $202.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.29. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.54 and a 52-week high of $204.88.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.78%.

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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