J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Grows Stock Holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 52.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,438 shares of the game software company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,574 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $1,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lifeworks Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Electronic Arts in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,036,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Electronic Arts by 53.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 68,372 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $13,939,000 after purchasing an additional 23,710 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in Electronic Arts by 0.3% during the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 24,685 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $5,033,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Electronic Arts by 9.7% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,745 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $3,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other Electronic Arts news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,066 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.66, for a total transaction of $1,021,609.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,337,516.84. This trade represents a 5.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total transaction of $507,750.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 73,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,930,490.30. This trade represents a 3.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 31,206 shares of company stock worth $6,292,058 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus downgraded Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Electronic Arts to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $196.64.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Electronic Arts stock opened at $206.65 on Wednesday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.97 and a fifty-two week high of $206.82. The company has a market capitalization of $51.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.21, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $202.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $202.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.78%.

Electronic Arts Profile

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.