Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Shares Purchased by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,671 shares of the game software company’s stock after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 16.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,636,385 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $3,086,621,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600,388 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter worth approximately $270,382,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,193,059 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $390,128,000 after acquiring an additional 1,223,195 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 265.0% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,516,792 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $196,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 82.3% in the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 2,357,238 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $322,494,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064,022 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on EA. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $146.00 to $143.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $162.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.00.

Electronic Arts Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EA opened at $126.31 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.31. The firm has a market cap of $33.77 billion, a PE ratio of 31.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.76. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12-month low of $117.47 and a 12-month high of $144.53.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The game software company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($1.38). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 20.58% and a net margin of 14.09%. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.88, for a total value of $347,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 30,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,295,558.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.24, for a total value of $143,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,901,755.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.88, for a total value of $347,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 30,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,295,558.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 37,144 shares of company stock valued at $5,143,560. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.