Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $165.37.

A number of analysts have weighed in on EA shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $160.00 price target (up previously from $154.00) on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $163.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Argus upped their price target on Electronic Arts from $161.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

EA traded down $0.40 on Thursday, reaching $145.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,075,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,047,593. The stock has a market cap of $38.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.79. The company's fifty day moving average is $157.28 and its 200 day moving average is $148.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43. Electronic Arts has a fifty-two week low of $124.92 and a fifty-two week high of $168.50.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.54%.

Insider Activity

In other Electronic Arts news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.18, for a total transaction of $148,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,750 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,575. This represents a 10.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $740,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 47,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,047,020. The trade was a 9.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,500 shares of company stock worth $3,491,995 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 983.4% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 257,902 shares of the game software company's stock worth $36,993,000 after purchasing an additional 234,098 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 20.8% during the third quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 64,170 shares of the game software company's stock worth $9,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,058 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Electronic Arts by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 84,200 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $12,078,000 after buying an additional 4,702 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,597,000. Finally, Chesapeake Capital Corp IL purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 3rd quarter valued at $950,000. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.