Squarepoint Ops LLC Grows Holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 132.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 116,458 shares of the game software company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,449 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $16,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,159,718 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $3,868,620,000 after acquiring an additional 3,727,251 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 496.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,511,250 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $333,169,000 after acquiring an additional 2,090,504 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 1st quarter valued at about $201,935,000. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 1st quarter valued at about $189,055,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 2nd quarter valued at about $188,159,000. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of EA stock opened at $144.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.91, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.79. Electronic Arts Inc. has a one year low of $117.70 and a one year high of $153.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $145.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The game software company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Electronic Arts had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 16.34%. Sell-side analysts expect that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 5.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In other Electronic Arts news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.42, for a total value of $356,050.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,437,957.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.42, for a total transaction of $356,050.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,437,957.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.58, for a total transaction of $219,870.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,360 shares in the company, valued at $3,863,848.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,570 shares of company stock worth $3,621,343. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EA. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.94.

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.