Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $165.37.

EA has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Electronic Arts from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Electronic Arts from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, September 18th.

Electronic Arts Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of Electronic Arts stock opened at $161.36 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.48, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.78. Electronic Arts has a twelve month low of $124.92 and a twelve month high of $164.42.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is presently 19.54%.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In related news, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.03, for a total transaction of $395,075.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,433 shares in the company, valued at $7,969,926.99. The trade was a 4.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 7,384 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.91, for a total value of $1,106,935.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 31,190 shares in the company, valued at $4,675,692.90. This represents a 19.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,884 shares of company stock worth $3,699,335. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Electronic Arts

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 23.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,631 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 17.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 130,988 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $17,379,000 after purchasing an additional 18,985 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 5.9% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,925 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 6.9% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,408 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,166 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $1,747,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc develops, markets, publishes, and distributes games, content, and services for game consoles, PCs, mobile phones, and tablets worldwide. It develops and publishes games and services across various genres, such as sports, racing, first-person shooter, action, role-playing, and simulation primarily under the Battlefield, The Sims, Apex Legends, Need for Speed, and license games from others, including FIFA, Madden NFL, UFC, and Star Wars brands.