Ninety One North America Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Ninety One North America Inc. lessened its position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 243,507 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 10,113 shares during the quarter. Electronic Arts makes up about 2.2% of Ninety One North America Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Ninety One North America Inc. owned about 0.09% of Electronic Arts worth $35,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,671,657 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $954,358,000 after purchasing an additional 26,505 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 6.3% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,099,746 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $160,893,000 after buying an additional 373,730 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Electronic Arts by 28.1% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 940,942 shares of the game software company's stock worth $134,969,000 after purchasing an additional 206,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,899 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $124,548,000 after buying an additional 66,797 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company's stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

EA stock traded down $3.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $128.65. 3,806,238 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,432,774. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $144.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.43. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.21 and a 52 week high of $168.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.74 billion, a PE ratio of 33.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 14.12%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 5.02 EPS for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts's payout ratio is currently 19.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on EA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Electronic Arts from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $125.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $175.00 to $158.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Electronic Arts from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $161.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $155.24.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In related news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.45, for a total value of $164,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,969,021.20. This represents a 3.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $244,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,814,688. This represents a 6.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,562,510 in the last 90 days. 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.