Retirement Systems of Alabama Trims Stock Position in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 586,340 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 64,511 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.23% of Electronic Arts worth $93,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of EA. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 197.5% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,916,693 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $421,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,313 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the 1st quarter worth approximately $225,102,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,537,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 62.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,253,505 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $470,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 3,477.8% during the 1st quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,163,747 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $168,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131,220 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:EA opened at $200.20 on Thursday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.21 and a 12-month high of $203.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $185.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.23.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.05%.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.55, for a total transaction of $1,002,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 42,393 shares in the company, valued at $8,501,916.15. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.80, for a total value of $240,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,995,904. This represents a 4.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,900 shares of company stock worth $7,748,187. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EA. DZ Bank cut Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Electronic Arts from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Electronic Arts from $166.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.38.

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.