Morningstar Investment Management LLC Sells 3,521 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 25.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,222 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 3,521 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $1,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,607,817 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $235,224,000 after buying an additional 95,190 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter worth $217,000. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Electronic Arts by 983.4% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 257,902 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $36,993,000 after purchasing an additional 234,098 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter worth about $13,845,000. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 64,170 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $9,205,000 after acquiring an additional 11,058 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on EA. BNP Paribas downgraded Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Argus boosted their price objective on Electronic Arts from $161.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Electronic Arts from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.55.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other Electronic Arts news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $740,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 47,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,047,020. The trade was a 9.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.45, for a total value of $164,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,216 shares in the company, valued at $4,969,021.20. This trade represents a 3.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,812,285. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EA opened at $129.34 on Thursday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.21 and a 12 month high of $168.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $33.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50 day moving average of $138.27 and a 200 day moving average of $146.45.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.34%.

About Electronic Arts

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.