Polar Capital Holdings Plc Purchases Shares of 333,602 Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 333,602 shares of the game software company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,806,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 353.4% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,269,258 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $185,692,000 after acquiring an additional 989,319 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Electronic Arts by 224.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,207,854 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $176,709,000 after purchasing an additional 835,985 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter worth about $96,698,000. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,156,791 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $1,778,553,000 after buying an additional 605,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 591.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 696,861 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $101,951,000 after buying an additional 596,141 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Roth Capital restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $179.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. HSBC raised shares of Electronic Arts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $161.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In other Electronic Arts news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.50, for a total transaction of $712,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,615 shares in the company, valued at $4,647,637.50. The trade was a 13.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.11, for a total transaction of $130,110.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,516 shares in the company, valued at $1,238,126.76. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 22,000 shares of company stock worth $3,118,120. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 1.2%

Electronic Arts stock opened at $147.23 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $38.37 billion, a PE ratio of 37.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $144.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.97. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.21 and a 52 week high of $168.50.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is currently 17.92%.

Electronic Arts Profile

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.