Electronic Arts Inc. $EA Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 7.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 89,927 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 7,634 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $18,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Walter Public Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 41.7% during the 3rd quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 48,017 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $9,685,000 after purchasing an additional 14,134 shares in the last quarter. NatWest Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the third quarter valued at $10,414,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 14.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 326,682 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $52,171,000 after buying an additional 40,848 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 35.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 390,971 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $78,859,000 after buying an additional 102,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Electronic Arts during the third quarter worth about $1,025,000. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Electronic Arts news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total transaction of $299,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,178,810.30. This trade represents a 20.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.53, for a total value of $498,825.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,645,878.79. This trade represents a 4.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 27,600 shares of company stock worth $5,589,823 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EA. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $207.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.95.

Electronic Arts Stock Down 0.2%

EA stock opened at $200.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52-week low of $128.02 and a 52-week high of $204.88. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.21.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

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.