Independent Franchise Partners LLP Reduces Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Independent Franchise Partners LLP cut its stake in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,856,935 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 106,820 shares during the quarter. Electronic Arts accounts for about 4.2% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned about 1.48% of Electronic Arts worth $564,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 141.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 200 shares of the game software company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of EA stock traded up $2.64 on Friday, hitting $145.61. 1,761,861 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,622,435. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $137.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.36. Electronic Arts Inc. has a one year low of $115.21 and a one year high of $168.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 17.80%. Equities analysts forecast that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on Electronic Arts from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ascendiant Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $154.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Electronic Arts news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.68, for a total value of $713,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 42,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,080,308.20. The trade was a 10.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.65, for a total transaction of $218,475.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,772,156.45. This trade represents a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,019,290 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Electronic Arts Profile

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.