Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 8.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 299,117 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 28,333 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $60,981,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 52.9% in the first quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 7,438 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $1,515,000 after buying an additional 2,574 shares during the period. Lifeworks Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,036,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 53.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 68,372 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $13,939,000 after acquiring an additional 23,710 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 24,685 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $5,033,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,745 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $3,210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In other news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.00, for a total transaction of $243,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 26,360 shares in the company, valued at $5,351,080. This trade represents a 4.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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 value of $507,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 73,513 shares in the company, valued at $14,930,490.30. This trade represents a 3.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 31,206 shares of company stock worth $6,292,058. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EA opened at $207.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $203.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.59. Electronic Arts Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.97 and a fifty-two week high of $207.86. The firm has a market cap of $52.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.64.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is presently 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.