Magnetar Financial LLC Takes Position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 8,188 shares of the game software company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,086,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EA. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,339 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 3,264 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 356 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,881 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 102.0% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 200 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $101,312.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,283 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,479.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $101,312.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,283 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,479.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Laura Miele sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.15, for a total transaction of $256,300.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 32,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,199,731.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,539 shares of company stock worth $3,199,031 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

EA traded up $3.38 on Friday, hitting $145.18. 2,341,330 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,101,151. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The business’s fifty day moving average is $138.50 and its 200 day moving average is $135.58. Electronic Arts Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $117.47 and a fifty-two week high of $148.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.79.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The game software company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.17). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 18.81% and a net margin of 16.83%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 29th were given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 29th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EA shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $162.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.56.

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.