Independent Franchise Partners LLP Reduces Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Independent Franchise Partners LLP trimmed its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 3.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,052,313 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 129,883 shares during the quarter. Electronic Arts makes up about 5.2% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned 1.52% of Electronic Arts worth $564,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 14.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,159,718 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $3,868,620,000 after buying an additional 3,727,251 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,901,257 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $782,920,000 after acquiring an additional 833,492 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 4,283,539 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $596,825,000 after acquiring an additional 53,237 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,185,476 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $583,162,000 after purchasing an additional 18,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its position in Electronic Arts by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 3,428,193 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $469,011,000 after purchasing an additional 145,466 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of EA stock opened at $139.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.45. Electronic Arts Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $117.47 and a fifty-two week high of $153.51. The company has a market cap of $37.08 billion, a PE ratio of 29.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $146.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.72.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The game software company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 15.77%. Equities analysts predict that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 28th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 28th. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is 16.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.26, for a total transaction of $350,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,747 shares in the company, valued at $8,660,634.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.26, for a total transaction of $350,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,747 shares in the company, valued at $8,660,634.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.71, for a total value of $111,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,389,173.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,570 shares of company stock worth $4,183,508 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on EA shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Electronic Arts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup downgraded Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $148.00 to $161.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $163.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Electronic Arts currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.94.

About Electronic Arts

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.