Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Stock Position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 44.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,947 shares of the game software company’s stock after acquiring an additional 912 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 353.4% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,269,258 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $185,692,000 after purchasing an additional 989,319 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 373,730 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased 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 valued at $45,626,000 after purchasing an additional 314,388 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,334,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 234,098 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of EA opened at $137.72 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.21 and a 52 week high of $168.50.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its quarterly 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is presently 19.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EA. Benchmark lowered their target price on Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Electronic Arts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Electronic Arts from $145.00 to $142.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of 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, BNP Paribas lowered 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. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.78.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In other news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,888,935.22. This represents a 5.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $740,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,047,020. This trade represents a 9.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,428,645 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.