Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its stake in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,522 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 227 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $2,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EA. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 26,676 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $3,826,000 after acquiring an additional 1,351 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 129,387 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $18,559,000 after acquiring an additional 12,468 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,313,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 27.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,605 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 86,368 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $12,389,000 after purchasing an additional 4,689 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 0.7 %

Electronic Arts stock opened at $130.93 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $137.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.24. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.21 and a 1 year high of $168.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market cap of $34.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.32, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $158.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $161.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Raymond James cut shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $175.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.55.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In other Electronic Arts news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.45, for a total transaction of $164,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,969,021.20. The trade was a 3.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $740,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,593,095. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.