Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,870 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 490 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EA. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 51.5% in the 4th 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 period. abrdn plc boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 59.2% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 858,840 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $123,484,000 after purchasing an additional 319,335 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 8,503.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 318,085 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $45,626,000 after purchasing an additional 314,388 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,154,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 983.4% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 257,902 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $36,993,000 after purchasing an additional 234,098 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on EA shares. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $173.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Electronic Arts from $175.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.47, for a total value of $832,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 52,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,758,819.05. The trade was a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.45, for a total value of $164,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,969,021.20. This trade represents a 3.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,000 shares of company stock worth $3,889,585. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 2.7 %

Electronic Arts stock opened at $132.09 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.38. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $143.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.34. The company has a market cap of $34.43 billion, a PE ratio of 33.61, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.79. Electronic Arts Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.21 and a fifty-two week high of $168.50.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 17.80%. Equities analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is presently 19.34%.

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.