New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 12,900 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 200,838 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 12,900 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.08% of Electronic Arts worth $29,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund raised its holdings in Electronic Arts by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 10,947 shares of the game software company's stock worth $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 3,829 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $107,000. Beta Wealth Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. now owns 3,402 shares of the game software company's stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 269.0% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 797 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 81,616 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $11,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,612 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In related news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $234,405.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,886 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,888,935.22. The trade was a 5.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,969,021.20. This represents a 3.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,500 shares of company stock worth $2,812,285. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 0.7 %

EA stock traded up $0.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $130.93. The company had a trading volume of 4,866,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,233,704. The company has a market capitalization of $34.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.32, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.79. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.21 and a 52 week high of $168.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 17.80%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Electronic Arts's payout ratio is 19.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on EA shares. Moffett Nathanson raised Electronic Arts from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on Electronic Arts from $158.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Thirteen 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 presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $154.55.

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.