Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Makes New Investment in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 34,976 shares of the game software company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,117,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Electronic Arts by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,671,657 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $954,358,000 after buying an additional 26,505 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,990,729 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $431,315,000 after purchasing an additional 122,494 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,789,283 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $261,772,000 after purchasing an additional 23,289 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,607,817 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $235,224,000 after purchasing an additional 95,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,520 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $213,089,000 after purchasing an additional 36,153 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $740,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,047,020. This represents a 9.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.57, for a total value of $147,570.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,311,405.12. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,194,240. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EA opened at $141.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $36.97 billion, a PE ratio of 36.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. Electronic Arts Inc. has a one year low of $115.21 and a one year high of $168.50.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EA has been the subject of several research reports. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Electronic Arts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $175.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.78.

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.