Marshall Wace LLP Grows Stock Position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 6,145.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 149,900 shares of the game software company's stock after acquiring an additional 147,500 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.06% of Electronic Arts worth $21,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,702,586 shares of the game software company's stock worth $978,650,000 after purchasing an additional 30,929 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,430,409 shares of the game software company's stock worth $648,169,000 after buying an additional 270,991 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,228,721 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $472,362,000 after acquiring an additional 120,632 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,990,729 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $431,315,000 after acquiring an additional 122,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Electronic Arts by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,789,283 shares of the game software company's stock worth $261,772,000 after acquiring an additional 23,289 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas cut shares of Electronic Arts from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $125.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Electronic Arts from $175.00 to $158.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $173.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $154.22.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 0.3 %

EA traded up $0.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $146.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 703,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,634,765. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.35, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $138.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.44. Electronic Arts Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.21 and a twelve month high of $168.50.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 14.28%. Analysts anticipate 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 issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.50, for a total transaction of $712,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,647,637.50. This represents a 13.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.65, for a total transaction of $218,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,772,156.45. This trade represents a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,000 shares of company stock worth $3,032,740 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently 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.