NatWest Group plc Takes $10.41 Million Position in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

NatWest Group plc bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 51,632 shares of the game software company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,414,000. Electronic Arts accounts for approximately 2.6% of NatWest Group plc’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in Electronic Arts in the second quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 34.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 40,483 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $6,467,000 after purchasing an additional 10,453 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the 1st quarter valued at $319,000. Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 278,069 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $44,408,000 after purchasing an additional 15,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alta Advisers Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the 2nd quarter worth $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:EA opened at $203.63 on Thursday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a one year low of $115.21 and a one year high of $204.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $50.93 billion, a PE ratio of 59.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $201.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.48.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The game software company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Electronic Arts had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 15.30%. Electronic Arts’s revenue was down 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.11, for a total value of $1,020,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 43,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,951,856.38. The trade was a 10.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.11, for a total transaction of $510,275.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 53,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,848,038.28. This represents a 4.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 141,169 shares of company stock worth $28,242,586. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on EA. Baird R W cut Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Monday, September 29th. TD Cowen cut shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Argus set a $210.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Electronic Arts currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $181.21.

Electronic Arts Profile

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.