Alliancebernstein L.P. Lowers Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 27.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,330,716 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 875,925 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.89% of Electronic Arts worth $340,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,607,817 shares of the game software company's stock worth $235,224,000 after purchasing an additional 95,190 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter valued at $217,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,520 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $213,089,000 after acquiring an additional 36,153 shares during the period. Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new position in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter worth $3,730,000. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter worth $13,845,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on EA shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Benchmark raised their price objective on Electronic Arts from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Electronic Arts from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Electronic Arts from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $155.65.

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Electronic Arts Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EA traded down $0.80 on Wednesday, reaching $144.87. 2,021,692 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,550,735. The firm has a market cap of $37.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.63. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.21 and a 52 week high of $168.50.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 14.28%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Electronic Arts news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.57, for a total value of $147,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,311,405.12. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.83, for a total value of $327,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 47,514 shares in the company, valued at $6,216,256.62. This trade represents a 5.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,000 shares of company stock worth $3,163,560. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

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.