Prudential PLC Reduces Holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Prudential PLC decreased its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 25,037 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 4,687 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $5,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of EA. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the third quarter worth about $968,160,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter worth about $643,674,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,300,336 shares during the period. Man Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 165.5% during the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,279,249 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $204,296,000 after purchasing an additional 797,461 shares during the period. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the third quarter worth about $156,760,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:EA opened at $203.00 on Friday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.54 and a 12-month high of $204.88. The company has a market capitalization of $50.90 billion, a PE ratio of 58.17, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day moving average of $202.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $202.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Electronic Arts to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings raised Electronic Arts from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Argus downgraded Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned 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 $196.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.36, for a total transaction of $302,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,233,547.76. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.19, for a total value of $1,005,950.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,507,721.53. The trade was a 10.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,906 shares of company stock valued at $8,032,336. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.