Electronic Arts Inc. $EA Shares Sold by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,037 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 4,687 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $5,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in EA. Pentwater Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $968,160,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter valued at $643,674,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 44.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,217,029 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $673,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300,336 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 165.5% in the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,279,249 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $204,296,000 after purchasing an additional 797,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC acquired a new position in Electronic Arts in the 3rd quarter valued at $156,760,000. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Electronic Arts to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings raised Electronic Arts from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Argus downgraded Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $196.64.

Electronic Arts Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of EA opened at $203.00 on Friday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.54 and a 52-week high of $204.88. The company has a market capitalization of $50.90 billion, a PE ratio of 58.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Electronic Arts news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.81, for a total value of $240,972.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,534,323.60. This trade represents a 4.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,066 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.66, for a total value of $1,021,609.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 85,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,337,516.84. This represents a 5.56% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,906 shares of company stock worth $8,032,336. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.