Electronic Arts Inc. $EA Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 43.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 853,542 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 659,759 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $174,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EA. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new position in Electronic Arts in the first quarter worth $27,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EA opened at $208.95 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $203.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.87, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.64. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.97 and a 52-week high of $209.34.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is 21.78%.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In other Electronic Arts news, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total transaction of $507,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 73,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,930,490.30. This trade represents a 3.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.19, for a total transaction of $1,005,950.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,287 shares in the company, valued at $8,507,721.53. The trade was a 10.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,206 shares of company stock worth $6,292,058. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus downgraded Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Electronic Arts to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Electronic Arts from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $196.64.

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.