Morningstar Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Morningstar Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,222 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 3,521 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $1,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EA. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 141.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 200 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Electronic Arts during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Electronic Arts by 31.8% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 290 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 1,458.3% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 374 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.45, for a total value of $164,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,216 shares in the company, valued at $4,969,021.20. The trade was a 3.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $234,405.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,888,935.22. The trade was a 5.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,500 shares of company stock worth $2,812,285 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on EA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America raised their price target on Electronic Arts from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. DA Davidson began coverage on Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. DZ Bank raised shares of Electronic Arts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Benchmark decreased their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Electronic Arts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.55.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of EA opened at $129.34 on Thursday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a one year low of $115.21 and a one year high of $168.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $138.27 and a 200 day moving average of $146.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.91, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.79.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last released 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 net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 17.80%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. 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.