Independent Franchise Partners LLP Sells 106,820 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Independent Franchise Partners LLP decreased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,856,935 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 106,820 shares during the period. Electronic Arts accounts for about 4.2% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned 1.48% of Electronic Arts worth $564,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EA. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Electronic Arts by 353.4% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,269,258 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $185,692,000 after buying an additional 989,319 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 224.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,207,854 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $176,709,000 after acquiring an additional 835,985 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter worth about $96,698,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 591.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 696,861 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $101,951,000 after purchasing an additional 596,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 100.8% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 801,915 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $117,513,000 after purchasing an additional 402,501 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EA has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Ascendiant Capital Markets boosted their price target on Electronic Arts from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.30.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In related news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.03, for a total transaction of $122,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 28,216 shares in the company, valued at $3,443,198.48. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,000 shares of company stock worth $3,015,990 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Electronic Arts stock opened at $142.93 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $136.45 and a 200-day moving average of $144.33. The company has a market capitalization of $37.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.21 and a 1 year high of $168.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 17.80%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is 19.34%.

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.