Sterling Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Sterling Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 43.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,477 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 6,447 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $1,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 75.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 85,245 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $17,194,000 after purchasing an additional 36,769 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 110,851 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $22,650,000 after purchasing an additional 9,297 shares during the period. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the third quarter valued at about $4,503,000. Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 43.2% during the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 112,668 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $22,725,000 after buying an additional 33,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 227,893 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $46,554,000 after buying an additional 57,268 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Electronic Arts news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.19, for a total transaction of $1,005,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,507,721.53. This represents a 10.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,066 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.66, for a total value of $1,021,609.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,337,516.84. The trade was a 5.56% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,906 shares of company stock valued at $8,060,033. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup increased 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Electronic Arts to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Argus downgraded Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Electronic Arts from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $196.64.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of EA opened at $205.05 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $51.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.75, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average of $202.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $202.42. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.97 and a 12-month high of $205.69.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

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

Electronic Arts 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.