Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Shares Purchased by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,847 shares of the game software company’s stock after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $2,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,671,657 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $954,358,000 after acquiring an additional 26,505 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,990,729 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $431,315,000 after buying an additional 122,494 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,789,283 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $261,772,000 after buying an additional 23,289 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,607,817 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $235,224,000 after acquiring an additional 95,190 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,520 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $213,089,000 after acquiring an additional 36,153 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Ascendiant Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on Electronic Arts from $158.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Electronic Arts from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In other news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.18, for a total transaction of $148,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 8,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,296,575. This represents a 10.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 42,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,080,308.20. The trade was a 10.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,166,740 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of EA opened at $144.30 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.64. 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 stock has a market cap of $37.61 billion, a PE ratio of 36.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78.

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 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, analysts forecast that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.