Traders Purchase High Volume of Electronic Arts Put Options (NASDAQ:EA)

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 29,822 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,092% compared to the typical volume of 2,502 put options.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

NASDAQ EA opened at $198.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Electronic Arts has a 1 year low of $131.15 and a 1 year high of $204.88. The company has a market cap of $49.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.44, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $202.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.13.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.57%.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 43,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,951,856.38. This trade represents a 10.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.63, for a total transaction of $240,756.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 31,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,251,630.80. This trade represents a 3.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 27,600 shares of company stock worth $5,589,823 over the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pentwater Capital Management LP lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 128.1% during the fourth quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 10,950,000 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $2,237,414,000 after purchasing an additional 6,150,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter valued at about $643,674,000. HBK Investments L P purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter worth about $390,267,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Electronic Arts by 44.6% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,217,029 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $673,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300,336 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Electronic Arts by 176.6% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,862,898 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $297,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189,455 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EA. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Electronic Arts from $207.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Electronic Arts has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $188.30.

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.