Bailard Inc. Decreases Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Bailard Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 28.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,705 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 2,225 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EA. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Electronic Arts by 353.4% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,269,258 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $185,692,000 after buying an additional 989,319 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 51.5% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 373,730 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 8,503.9% during the third 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 last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 983.4% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 257,902 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $36,993,000 after purchasing an additional 234,098 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 5,606.4% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 219,013 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $32,042,000 after purchasing an additional 215,175 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $740,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 47,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,047,020. The trade was a 9.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $234,405.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,888,935.22. This represents a 5.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,500 shares of company stock worth $3,428,645. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Electronic Arts from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BNP Paribas downgraded Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Electronic Arts from $145.00 to $142.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Benchmark lowered their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.78.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

NASDAQ EA opened at $129.23 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.21 and a 1-year high of $168.50. The company has a market cap of $33.68 billion, a PE ratio of 32.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $134.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.59.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.