Van ECK Associates Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its stake in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 360,523 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 22,436 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.14% of Electronic Arts worth $52,744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EA. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Electronic Arts in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 141.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 200 shares of the game software company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Electronic Arts during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Electronic Arts by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 290 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in Electronic Arts by 1,458.3% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 374 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company's stock.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EA traded down $0.42 on Monday, reaching $129.40. 2,319,025 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,962,315. Electronic Arts Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.21 and a fifty-two week 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 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.72 billion, a PE ratio of 32.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.79. The company's 50 day moving average is $139.70 and its 200-day moving average is $146.72.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share 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, analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio is 19.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EA. UBS Group raised their target price on Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. DZ Bank raised Electronic Arts from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Argus lifted their target price on Electronic Arts from $161.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Electronic Arts from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $155.24.

Insider Activity

In other Electronic Arts news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.47, for a total value of $832,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 52,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,758,819.05. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.45, for a total transaction of $164,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,969,021.20. This trade represents a 3.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,500 shares of company stock worth $3,644,635. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

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.