Prudential PLC Sells 26,244 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Prudential PLC lowered its position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 87,167 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 26,244 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $12,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 11.3% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 8,869 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Electronic Arts by 6,416.8% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 12,056 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 11,871 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 16,914 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $2,426,000 after buying an additional 3,150 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 34,734 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $4,982,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.7% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 110,118 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $15,795,000 after buying an additional 2,878 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on EA shares. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $138.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $145.00 to $142.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Electronic Arts from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.68, for a total value of $713,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 42,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,080,308.20. The trade was a 10.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $145,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,801,320. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,015,990 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of EA opened at $135.34 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $134.10 and a 200 day moving average of $144.56. The company has a market capitalization of $35.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.44, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.21 and a 12 month high of $168.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is 19.34%.

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.