Stephens Inc. AR Grows Position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,337 shares of the game software company’s stock after buying an additional 585 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EA. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,607,817 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $235,224,000 after purchasing an additional 95,190 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at $217,000. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 983.4% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 257,902 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $36,993,000 after purchasing an additional 234,098 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at $13,845,000. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 20.8% during the third quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 64,170 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $9,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,058 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ EA opened at $129.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $33.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.02. Electronic Arts Inc. has a one year low of $115.21 and a one year high of $168.50.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 17.80%. Equities analysts forecast that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Raymond James cut shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $175.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.24.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.47, for a total value of $832,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,615 shares in the company, valued at $8,758,819.05. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.45, for a total transaction of $164,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,969,021.20. This trade represents a 3.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,500 shares of company stock worth $3,644,635. 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.