Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP Takes Position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,498 shares of the game software company’s stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp raised its holdings in Electronic Arts by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 10,806 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Electronic Arts by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,365 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter worth about $752,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter worth about $288,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total value of $128,210.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,362,397.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Electronic Arts news, insider Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total transaction of $128,210.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,362,397.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.88, for a total transaction of $347,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 30,930 shares in the company, valued at $4,295,558.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 37,144 shares of company stock valued at $5,143,560. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $146.00 to $143.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $153.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.00.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 0.8 %

EA stock traded up $1.00 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $128.14. 1,483,253 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,016,861. The company has a market capitalization of $34.26 billion, a PE ratio of 32.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Electronic Arts Inc. has a twelve month low of $117.47 and a twelve month high of $144.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.57.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The game software company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($1.38). The company had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 20.58% and a net margin of 14.09%. Electronic Arts’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.14%.

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.