Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty-three research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nineteen have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $188.30.

Several research analysts recently commented on EA shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on Electronic Arts from $207.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total transaction of $299,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,178,810.30. The trade was a 20.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.26, for a total value of $1,021,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 38,858 shares in the company, valued at $7,937,135.08. This trade represents a 11.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 27,600 shares of company stock worth $5,553,319 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Electronic Arts by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,420 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 167.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,306 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after buying an additional 12,076 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 150.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management grew its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 27.6% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 939 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 322,390 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $51,486,000 after acquiring an additional 4,577 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EA opened at $202.01 on Friday. Electronic Arts has a 52 week low of $131.15 and a 52 week high of $204.88. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $199.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $50.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.75.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Electronic Arts Company Profile

Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: EA) is a global interactive entertainment company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in 1982 by Trip Hawkins, EA develops, publishes and distributes video games and related content for a variety of platforms, including consoles, personal computers and mobile devices. The company combines in-house development, partnerships and studio acquisitions to create and maintain a portfolio of entertainment properties and live-service experiences for players worldwide.

EA’s product lineup spans several well-known franchises and genres.