Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Cut to Strong Sell at DZ Bank

DZ Bank cut shares of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) from a strong-buy rating to a strong sell rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Baird R W downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Friday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $168.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group set a $210.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.04.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of EA stock opened at $201.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $50.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $170.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.76. Electronic Arts has a 52 week low of $115.21 and a 52 week high of $203.75.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 27th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is presently 19.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Electronic Arts news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.40, for a total transaction of $1,322,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 5,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,045,476. The trade was a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.05, for a total value of $855,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,961,822.65. The trade was a 8.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,500 shares of company stock worth $6,743,160 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 70.1% during the second quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 165 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust grew its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 56.4% during the first quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 208 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 328.9% in the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 193 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by 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.