Prudential PLC Decreases Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Prudential PLC lessened its position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 49.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,348 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 24,490 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $4,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 197.5% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,916,693 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $421,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,313 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts during the 1st quarter worth about $225,102,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the 1st quarter worth about $203,537,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 62.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,253,505 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $470,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 176.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,862,898 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $297,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189,455 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of EA opened at $200.69 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.57. The firm has a market cap of $50.05 billion, a PE ratio of 58.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.74. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.21 and a 12-month high of $203.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The game software company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.07). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 12.14%.The business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.80, for a total value of $240,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,880 shares in the company, valued at $4,995,904. The trade was a 4.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.79, for a total value of $863,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,189,036.47. This represents a 9.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,400 shares of company stock worth $8,175,651. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on EA shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $168.00 target price on Electronic Arts and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $206.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Roth Capital cut shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $185.00 to $210.00 in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $191.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $181.64.

About Electronic Arts

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.