MUFG Securities EMEA plc Raises Position in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 1,250.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,202 shares of the game software company’s stock after acquiring an additional 53,892 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $11,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,773,086 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $5,879,205,000 after acquiring an additional 485,030 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,764,572 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $1,382,030,000 after acquiring an additional 143,195 shares in the last quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the third quarter valued at about $968,160,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 8.9% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,591,869 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $926,194,000 after acquiring an additional 374,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 4.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,314,962 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $870,328,000 after acquiring an additional 202,657 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

EA stock opened at $201.72 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $50.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.65. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.19 and a 52 week high of $204.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $202.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $202.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Argus downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Electronic Arts from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $196.64.

Insider Activity

In other Electronic Arts news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,066 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.66, for a total transaction of $1,021,609.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer 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. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,200 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.81, for a total transaction of $240,972.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,534,323.60. The trade was a 4.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 39,906 shares of company stock valued at $8,032,336 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Company 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.