Scotia Capital Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 68.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,846 shares of the game software company’s stock after buying an additional 4,417 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $1,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Claro Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,285 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 2,475 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 812 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,761 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $550,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,837 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Raymond James lowered shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $173.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on Electronic Arts from $158.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.30.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

NASDAQ:EA opened at $142.93 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $136.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.33. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.21 and a 12 month high of $168.50. The firm has a market cap of $37.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 14.28%. On average, analysts expect that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is presently 19.34%.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In related news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.45, for a total transaction of $215,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,354,721.70. This trade represents a 6.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.03, for a total transaction of $122,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,216 shares in the company, valued at $3,443,198.48. This trade represents a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 22,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,015,990. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Company Profile

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.