Sentry Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,293 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 139 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Bray Capital Advisors increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 100.0% during the third quarter. Bray Capital Advisors now owns 220 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 269.1% in the fourth quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 212,585 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 154,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on EA shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $162.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $146.00 to $143.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Electronic Arts in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.00.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

NASDAQ EA opened at $126.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $135.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.76. Electronic Arts Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $117.47 and a fifty-two week high of $144.53.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The game software company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($1.38). Electronic Arts had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 20.58%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is presently 19.14%.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other Electronic Arts news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.82, for a total transaction of $106,256.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,597,164.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.82, for a total transaction of $106,256.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,083 shares in the company, valued at $3,597,164.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jeff Huber sold 11,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.90, for a total value of $1,684,636.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 79,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,264,163.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,144 shares of company stock worth $5,015,350. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.