Mizuho Securities USA LLC Grows Position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 45.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,620 shares of the game software company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,030 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $3,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,607,817 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $235,224,000 after buying an additional 95,190 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter valued at about $217,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,520 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $213,089,000 after purchasing an additional 36,153 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter valued at $3,730,000. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter worth about $13,845,000. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Electronic Arts stock traded up $0.11 on Thursday, hitting $145.30. The company had a trading volume of 2,332,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,407,783. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Electronic Arts Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.21 and a twelve month high of $168.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $132.92 and a 200-day moving average of $144.62.

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Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 17.80%. Research analysts predict that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Electronic Arts's payout ratio is 19.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.50, for a total value of $712,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,647,637.50. This represents a 13.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.57, for a total transaction of $147,570.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,311,405.12. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,000 shares of company stock worth $3,018,560. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EA. Ascendiant Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $173.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup cut their price target on Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Electronic Arts from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $155.65.

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.