California Public Employees Retirement System Lowers Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,665,041 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 7,679 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $227,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EA. Bray Capital Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bray Capital Advisors now owns 220 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its position in Electronic Arts by 269.1% during the fourth quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 212,585 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 154,989 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 356 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EA traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $127.20. The company had a trading volume of 204,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,008,140. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 1-year low of $117.47 and a 1-year high of $144.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market cap of $34.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.55.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The game software company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($1.38). The company had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 20.58% and a net margin of 14.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is 19.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $146.00 to $143.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Electronic Arts from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $153.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $162.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.88, for a total value of $347,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 30,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,295,558.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Jeff Huber sold 11,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.90, for a total transaction of $1,684,636.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 79,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,264,163.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.88, for a total value of $347,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 30,930 shares in the company, valued at $4,295,558.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,144 shares of company stock valued at $5,143,560. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.