Electronic Arts Inc. $EA Shares Sold by Independent Franchise Partners LLP

Independent Franchise Partners LLP cut its holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 13.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,415,129 shares of the game software company's stock after selling 530,573 shares during the quarter. Electronic Arts comprises approximately 3.6% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned about 1.36% of Electronic Arts worth $545,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 197.5% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,916,693 shares of the game software company's stock worth $421,524,000 after acquiring an additional 1,936,313 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the 1st quarter valued at $225,102,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 1st quarter valued at $203,537,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 62.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,253,505 shares of the game software company's stock worth $470,197,000 after buying an additional 1,254,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 176.6% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,862,898 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $297,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189,455 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In related news, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.06, for a total transaction of $502,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 55,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,188,586.88. This trade represents a 4.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total value of $1,005,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 48,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,822,900.90. This represents a 9.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 134,869 shares of company stock worth $26,878,477 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 0.3%

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EA opened at $203.24 on Wednesday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.21 and a fifty-two week high of $203.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $199.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.32. The company has a market capitalization of $50.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.76.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The game software company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 12.14%.Electronic Arts's quarterly revenue was down 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

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The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. Electronic Arts's payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on EA. Argus set a $210.00 price objective on Electronic Arts in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup upped their target price on Electronic Arts from $206.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Arete Research set a $192.00 price objective on Electronic Arts in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Baird R W cut Electronic Arts from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Electronic Arts from $148.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned 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, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $181.64.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Electronic Arts

About Electronic Arts

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.

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