Hsbc Holdings PLC Cuts Position in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 52.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 487,943 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 539,768 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $99,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,420 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 167.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,306 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after purchasing an additional 12,076 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 150.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 2nd quarter worth $2,323,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 96.4% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,067 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 1,505 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Electronic Arts from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Electronic Arts to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Electronic Arts presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $196.64.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EA opened at $202.15 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $202.12 and a 200 day moving average of $202.39. The stock has a market cap of $50.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.65. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.97 and a 12 month high of $204.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.21, for a total value of $508,025.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 43,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,807,731.03. This trade represents a 5.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.36, for a total value of $302,040.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,233,547.76. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Insiders have sold 39,906 shares of company stock valued at $8,060,033 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.