Rathbones Group PLC Purchases 22,863 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Rathbones Group PLC raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 206,231 shares of the game software company’s stock after buying an additional 22,863 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $30,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 353.4% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,269,258 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $185,692,000 after acquiring an additional 989,319 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 224.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,207,854 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $176,709,000 after purchasing an additional 835,985 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter valued at $96,698,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 591.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 696,861 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $101,951,000 after purchasing an additional 596,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 100.8% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 801,915 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $117,513,000 after buying an additional 402,501 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Electronic Arts from $145.00 to $142.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $173.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $138.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 26,216 shares in the company, valued at $3,801,320. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.83, for a total transaction of $327,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 47,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,216,256.62. This represents a 5.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 22,000 shares of company stock worth $3,015,990. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 6.6 %

Shares of Electronic Arts stock opened at $135.34 on Monday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.21 and a twelve month high of $168.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $134.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share (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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

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

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.