Electronic Arts Inc. $EA Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 80.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,310 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 13,823 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $968,160,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $643,674,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 44.6% in the second 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 lifted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 165.5% in the second 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. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC purchased a new position in Electronic Arts in the third quarter worth approximately $156,760,000. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ EA opened at $203.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.00 billion, a PE ratio of 58.28, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.65. Electronic Arts Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.54 and a twelve month high of $204.88. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $202.29.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is currently 21.78%.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In related news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.36, for a total value of $302,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 25,991 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,233,547.76. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.19, for a total transaction of $1,005,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,507,721.53. The trade was a 10.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,906 shares of company stock valued at $8,032,336. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EA shares. Argus cut Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Electronic Arts from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Electronic Arts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $196.64.

Electronic Arts 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.