Alpine Associates Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 106,000 Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Alpine Associates Management Inc. purchased a new position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 106,000 shares of the game software company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,380,000. Electronic Arts accounts for 1.3% of Alpine Associates Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 1.2% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,783 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,053 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 3.6% during the third quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,941 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in Electronic Arts by 70.1% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 20.5% during the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 399 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $148.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Electronic Arts from $207.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.95.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EA opened at $202.24 on Thursday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12 month low of $128.02 and a 12 month high of $204.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $203.59 and a 200 day moving average of $191.90. The stock has a market cap of $50.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.65, for a total value of $302,475.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 5,595 shares in the company, valued at $1,128,231.75. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.27, for a total transaction of $510,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,648 shares in the company, valued at $10,345,866.96. This represents a 4.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 123,769 shares of company stock valued at $24,943,734 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Company Profile

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.