Metis Global Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Metis Global Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,951 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 457 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $1,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 290 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,285 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,572 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 812 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,761 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $740,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,615 shares in the company, valued at $7,047,020. This trade represents a 9.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.18, for a total transaction of $148,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 8,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,296,575. This represents a 10.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,500 shares of company stock worth $3,428,645 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EA. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $145.00 to $142.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ascendiant Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Roth Mkm lowered their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $158.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Electronic Arts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.78.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ EA opened at $129.23 on Tuesday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a one year low of $115.21 and a one year high of $168.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.68 billion, a PE ratio of 32.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. 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.