Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 56,605 shares of the game software company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,899 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $8,281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 141.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 200 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 31.8% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 290 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Electronic Arts news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.11, for a total value of $130,110.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,516 shares in the company, valued at $1,238,126.76. This represents a 9.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.83, for a total transaction of $327,075.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 47,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,216,256.62. This represents a 5.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,500 shares of company stock worth $3,428,645 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Ascendiant Capital Markets lifted their price target 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. Raymond James downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Electronic Arts from $145.00 to $142.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.78.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

EA stock opened at $137.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $35.93 billion, a PE ratio of 35.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.21 and a 12 month high of $168.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $133.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.34%.

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.