Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,953 shares of the game software company’s stock after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $3,651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of EA. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 141.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 200 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 290 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Electronic Arts from $175.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Benchmark reduced their price target on Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Electronic Arts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.78.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

NASDAQ EA opened at $131.82 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $134.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.54, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. 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 1-year low of $115.21 and a 1-year high of $168.50.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, equities analysts predict that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.34%.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other Electronic Arts news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was 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. This represents a 9.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $234,405.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,888,935.22. The trade was a 5.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,500 shares of company stock worth $3,428,645 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.