HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 28,646 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 2,937 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $5,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EA. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the 3rd quarter valued at about $968,160,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 44.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,217,029 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $673,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300,336 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc increased its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 165.5% in the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,279,249 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $204,296,000 after acquiring an additional 797,461 shares during the last quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the 3rd quarter valued at about $156,760,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,069,543 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $619,127,000 after acquiring an additional 638,667 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Electronic Arts from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $196.64.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:EA opened at $200.68 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $202.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $202.25. The company has a market capitalization of $50.32 billion, a PE ratio of 57.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.19 and a 52-week high of $204.88.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.78%.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In related news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.36, for a total transaction of $302,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 25,991 shares in the company, valued at $5,233,547.76. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total value of $499,875.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 45,843 shares in the company, valued at $9,166,307.85. This represents a 5.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,906 shares of company stock worth $8,032,336. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Electronic Arts Company Profile

Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: EA) is a global interactive entertainment company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in 1982 by Trip Hawkins, EA develops, publishes and distributes video games and related content for a variety of platforms, including consoles, personal computers and mobile devices. The company combines in-house development, partnerships and studio acquisitions to create and maintain a portfolio of entertainment properties and live-service experiences for players worldwide.

EA’s product lineup spans several well-known franchises and genres.