Electronic Arts Inc. $EA Shares Bought by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 27.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 167,966 shares of the game software company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,489 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $34,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of EA. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,420 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 167.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,306 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 12,076 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 150.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Electronic Arts in the second quarter valued at $2,323,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 96.4% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,067 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,505 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Electronic Arts this week:

• Positive Sentiment: EA is creating a new advertising platform that could unlock incremental revenue by bringing brands into its games and live experiences. Electronic Arts Introduces EA Advertising, Launching Brands Directly Into Gameplay and Live Experiences
• Neutral Sentiment: Management says the ads will be integrated in a “non-disruptive” way, suggesting EA is trying to balance monetization with player retention. Electronic Arts launches EA Advertising, a new way for brands to connect with fans through its games
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors and players may worry that a bigger ad push could make EA’s games feel more commercial, potentially hurting user sentiment and engagement. Electronic Arts Announces Plans To Cram Far More Advertising Into Its Games

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Electronic Arts to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Argus downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $196.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Electronic Arts news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.19, for a total value of $1,005,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,507,721.53. This trade represents a 10.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,066 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.66, for a total transaction of $1,021,609.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,337,516.84. This trade represents a 5.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Insiders sold a total of 31,206 shares of company stock valued at $6,293,083 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ EA opened at $203.12 on Tuesday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.97 and a 52-week high of $204.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $202.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.38.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

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

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.