Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 16.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 163,501 shares of the game software company’s stock after selling 31,369 shares during the quarter. Electronic Arts comprises about 1.6% of Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.07% of Electronic Arts worth $32,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 70.1% during the 2nd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 165 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Electronic Arts during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Electronic Arts by 328.9% during the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 193 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Electronic Arts by 67.5% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 196 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 131.9% in the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 167 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In other Electronic Arts news, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.11, for a total value of $510,275.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 53,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,848,038.28. The trade was a 4.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.11, for a total transaction of $1,020,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 43,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,951,856.38. This represents a 10.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 120,069 shares of company stock worth $24,169,349 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

NASDAQ EA opened at $204.15 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.21 and a 12-month high of $204.88. The firm has a market cap of $51.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.69, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.73.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The game software company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 12.14%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on EA shares. TD Cowen cut shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $148.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. HSBC downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $191.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $181.21.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: EA) is a global interactive entertainment company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in 1982 by Trip Hawkins, EA develops, publishes and distributes video games and related content for a variety of platforms, including consoles, personal computers and mobile devices. The company combines in-house development, partnerships and studio acquisitions to create and maintain a portfolio of entertainment properties and live-service experiences for players worldwide.

EA’s product lineup spans several well-known franchises and genres.