Electronic Arts Inc. $EA Shares Acquired by Walter Public Investments Inc.

Walter Public Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 41.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,017 shares of the game software company’s stock after buying an additional 14,134 shares during the quarter. Electronic Arts makes up 1.6% of Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $9,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EA. State Street Corp boosted its position in Electronic Arts by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,072,959 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $2,726,552,000 after purchasing an additional 932,024 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 4,355,950 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $695,645,000 after purchasing an additional 193,442 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 44.6% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,217,029 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $673,393,000 after buying an additional 1,300,336 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Electronic Arts by 10.1% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,112,305 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $656,735,000 after buying an additional 378,824 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Electronic Arts by 17.0% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,430,876 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $388,211,000 after buying an additional 353,327 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cowen downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Hsbc Global Res lowered Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Argus set a $210.00 price target on Electronic Arts in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $181.21.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of Electronic Arts stock opened at $204.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.71, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.95. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.21 and a 12 month high of $204.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The game software company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.07). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 12.14%.The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Electronic Arts news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.11, for a total value of $244,932.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 33,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,849,931.60. This trade represents a 3.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeff Huber sold 79,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.17, for a total value of $15,969,075.77. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 120,069 shares of company stock valued at $24,169,349 in the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: EA) is a global interactive entertainment company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in 1982 by Trip Hawkins, EA develops, publishes and distributes video games and related content for a variety of platforms, including consoles, personal computers and mobile devices. The company combines in-house development, partnerships and studio acquisitions to create and maintain a portfolio of entertainment properties and live-service experiences for players worldwide.

EA’s product lineup spans several well-known franchises and genres.