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

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG trimmed its position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 39.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,571 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 10,048 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $2,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. lifted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 8.4% during the second quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. now owns 18,525 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $2,958,000 after buying an additional 1,441 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 42.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 323,008 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $51,584,000 after purchasing an additional 96,706 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd now owns 52,530 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $8,300,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 4,355,950 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $695,645,000 after purchasing an additional 193,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,829 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $931,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $166.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $166.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.79, for a total transaction of $863,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 47,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,189,036.47. This trade represents a 9.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.79, for a total transaction of $504,475.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 53,092 shares in the company, valued at $10,713,434.68. The trade was a 4.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,000 shares of company stock worth $7,247,635. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EA opened at $200.69 on Friday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.21 and a twelve month high of $203.75. The company’s 50 day moving average is $172.45 and its 200 day moving average is $156.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $50.21 billion, a PE ratio of 50.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.77.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 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 presently 19.05%.

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.