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

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $196.6429.

EA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Electronic Arts to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Argus downgraded Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings raised Electronic Arts from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EA opened at $205.21 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.80, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.64. Electronic Arts has a 12 month low of $146.97 and a 12 month high of $206.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $202.45 and its 200 day moving average is $202.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In other news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, 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 this link. 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.36, for a total transaction of $302,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 25,991 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,233,547.76. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 $8,060,033. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Electronic Arts

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 100.0% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 138 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Electronic Arts during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Electronic Arts during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by 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.