Principal Securities Inc. Sells 4,041 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Principal Securities Inc. trimmed its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 69.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,750 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 4,041 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EA. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 0.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,671,657 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $954,358,000 after buying an additional 26,505 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,607,817 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $235,224,000 after purchasing an additional 95,190 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,099,746 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $160,893,000 after purchasing an additional 373,730 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in Electronic Arts by 28.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 940,942 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $134,969,000 after purchasing an additional 206,623 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,899 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $124,548,000 after buying an additional 66,797 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of EA stock opened at $130.93 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.25. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.21 and a 52 week high of $168.50. The stock has a market cap of $34.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.32, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 14.28%. Analysts predict that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $740,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 47,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,047,020. The trade was a 9.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.18, for a total value of $148,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 8,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,296,575. This represents a 10.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,500 shares of company stock worth $3,593,095. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm lowered their target price on Electronic Arts from $158.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DZ Bank raised shares of Electronic Arts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $177.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.55.

Electronic Arts Company 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.