Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 20.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,876 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 1,248 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $713,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of EA. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 141.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 200 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 31.8% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 290 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 1,458.3% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 374 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction, the insider now owns 30,216 shares in the company, valued at $4,969,021.20. This trade represents a 3.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.47, for a total value of $832,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 52,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,758,819.05. This trade represents a 8.68 % 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 valued at $3,644,635 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EA opened at $129.40 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $33.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.93, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.43. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.21 and a 1 year high of $168.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $139.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.72.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.99 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 dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is currently 19.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EA. Benchmark reduced their target price on Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $173.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James cut Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.24.

Electronic Arts Company 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.