Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $196.6429.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Electronic Arts to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Argus downgraded Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Electronic Arts from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of EA stock opened at $203.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $50.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.22, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $202.33. Electronic Arts has a 1-year low of $145.54 and a 1-year high of $204.88.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.19, for a total transaction of $1,005,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,507,721.53. The trade was a 10.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.36, for a total value of $302,040.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 25,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,233,547.76. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,906 shares of company stock valued at $8,032,336. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EA. Greenland Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Electronic Arts during the 3rd quarter worth about $5,569,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its position in Electronic Arts by 75.8% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 85,245 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $17,194,000 after buying an additional 36,769 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 110,851 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $22,650,000 after purchasing an additional 9,297 shares during the last quarter. Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the third quarter valued at about $4,503,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc boosted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 43.2% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 112,668 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $22,725,000 after buying an additional 33,982 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.